Iran Moves Ahead To Secure Power Position At Straits Of Hormuz
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has suddenly gone ahead and established a naval base in the coastal town of Sirik. This is a town that lies near the world’s most important oil chokepoint Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of
Hormuz is considered the world’s most important oil chokepoint because of the
large volumes of oil that flow through the straits. It remains a huge moot
point between Iran and the US.
The new naval
base in the coastal town of Sirik has been formally inaugurated in the presence
of IRGC Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami.
As Iran gets
singled out from most of the nations due to the notoriety of moving away from the the agreement made in the 2015 Nuclear Deal, it is trying to gather strength
through other tactics.
Recent US sanctions against it tied up
Tehran’s hands in its oil export deals. Iran
has therefore resorted to repeatedly threaten in recent years that it will move
to close the Strait of
Hormuz if it can’t export its oil. It is also known to often
hold naval war games and military
drills in its waters in the Gulf, including in areas close to
the most important shipping lane in the world.
With setting up a naval base, it is making itself loud and
clear. But the US will not keep quiet on this either. While speaking to the local media, Salami said,
“With the opening and unveiling of this base, the country’s combat operations,
ship operations, reconnaissance as well as defensive and offensive operations
in the Persian Gulf will further develop.”
Political analysts are seeing Iran’s growing control over
the Strait of Hormuz. This could also be its saving contingency as the UN arms
embargo expires in October this year. By building crucial infrastructure and
maintaining a key military footprint, it plans to remain prepared for its growing
tension with the US and its other Gulf partners.
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