Iranian Army: Strait of Hormuz is part of our strategic geography

The commander of the Iranian Navy, Admiral Shahram Irani, affirmed that the Strait of Hormuz is part of Iran's strategic geography, emphasizing that the Iranian presence there is a cornerstone for protecting the country's security and interests. The statements came amid an escalation in Iranian rhetoric regarding the security of the strait, and a warning from senior negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf that failure to ensure Iran's security would put infrastructure in the region at risk.

The commander of the Iranian Navy, Admiral Shahram Irani, affirmed that the Strait of Hormuz represents part of his country's strategic geography, emphasizing that the Iranian presence there constitutes a cornerstone for protecting Iran's security and interests. Irani said in statements on Wednesday that the Iranian Navy is "not a force to destabilize security, but rather to protect the safety of navigation," and to prevent what he described as "adventures" in the region. He added that the sea for Iran goes beyond being merely a passage for communication, given the extent of its coasts and its location near one of the most important waterways in the world, noting that this role became clearly evident during the war that began on February 28, 2026, with the US-Israeli attack on Iran. Irani's statements come amid an escalation in Iranian rhetoric regarding the security of the Strait of Hormuz, as senior Iranian negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned on Tuesday that failure to ensure his country's security would make infrastructure in the region vulnerable to targeting. Qalibaf said that if Iran cannot sell its oil, others will not be able to sell oil either, adding that failure to ensure his country's security means no infrastructure in the region will remain safe from targeting. In the same context, the spokesman for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Hossein Mohibi, attacked US President Donald Trump, considering that the United States has no choice left but to declare failure and leave the region, in his words. These statements come amid stalled Iranian-American negotiations that resumed last week with Qatari mediation, with both sides sticking to their positions on the issues under negotiation. Tehran had presented a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for lifting the US naval blockade on its ports and releasing its frozen assets abroad, but Trump rejected the proposal, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian affirmed his country's commitment to implementing the Islamabad understandings without making concessions.