A senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says there is no need for extra-regional forces to ensure the security of the Persian Gulf given that Iran and neighboring countries are cooperating to guarantee the security of the strategic waterway.

“The Islamic Republic’s security umbrella has been expanded across the region, and we have cooperation with other neighboring states in this regard,” commander of the third naval zone of the IRGC Rear Admiral Amrollah Nozari said on Tuesday.

Pointing to a Sunday naval parade in Bandar-e Mahshahr in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan Province on the occasion of National Persian Gulf Day, he said the IRGC Navy is responsible to maintain national and shipping security in the region.

The commander further said that the IRGC Navy has an active and strong presence in the region to ensure the security of the Persian Gulf for the Iranian nation and other neighboring states.

In similar remarks on Saturday, Commander of the IRGC Navy Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri said his forces will resolutely “protect and safeguard” the Persian Gulf and its resources, urging the United States and the Israeli regime to immediately leave the strategic waterway.

Tangsiri added that “the illegitimate presence of the aggressive United States and the child-killing Israeli regime in this region has endangered the stability and security of the Persian Gulf,” calling on Washington and Tel Aviv to leave the area as soon as possible “so that this sensitive region becomes safer.”

The Persian Gulf — spanning some 251,000 square kilometers — is bounded by the Arvand River in the north, which forms the frontier between Iran and Iraq, and the Strait of Hormuz in the south, linking the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean.

The strategic inland sea is an international trade route connecting the Middle East to Africa, India, and China.

It has been referred to by historians and ancient texts as “the Persian Gulf” since the Achaemenid Empire was established in what is now modern-day Iran.

By Press TV