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Iran sets up naval base in Persian Gulf

DUBAI: Iran has commissioned a new naval station on the eastern edge of the Strait of Hormuz through which the bulk of oil produced in the Gulf passes.

Iran’s Navy chief Habibollah Sayyari said with the naval facilities in place in Jask, Tehran would have the means to block the “enemy” from entering the Gulf. Nearly 20 per cent of the world oil supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz — by far the most important chokepoint separating the Gulf waters and the Sea of Oman.

In a veiled reference to the U.S., whose warships sail in the Gulf, Iran has frequently opposed the presence of “extra-regional” forces in these waters. “We are creating a new defence front in the region, thinking of a non-regional enemy,” state-run Iranian radio quoted Admiral Sayyari as saying. “In this region we are capable of preventing the entry of any kind of enemy into the strategic Persian Gulf if need be.”

On Tuesday, Iran’s Deputy Army Commander Brigadier General Seyed Abdolrahim Moussavi said that the base in Jask would serve a “protective barrier in the eastern parts of the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman.” He added that Iran’s armed forces were monitoring the aircraft carriers of the “enemy” and compared their movement to the “elements of computer games.” Analysts said Iran may have established the base with an eye to protect a proposed oil pipeline from its Caspian Sea port of Neka to Jask.

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