Iranian Armed Forces yesterday held military parades across the country, including in the Persian Gulf, at the start of the Sacred Defense Week, which marks the anniversary of the 1980-88 war.
Iranian media reports say the parades began countrywide Sunday morning. Forces from the Iranian Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Police, Border Guards, and Basij reportedly participated in the parades, which were held in Tehran and 30 other provincial capitals, as well as in the waters of the Persian Gulf.
Press TV says Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivered a speech before the parades began in Tehran, and Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani spoke at the stage in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that the presence of foreign forces creates insecurity in the Gulf, after the US ordered the deployment of more troops to the region.
“Foreign forces can cause problems and insecurity for our people and for our region,” Rouhani said in a televised speech at an annual military parade, adding that Iran would present to the UN a regional cooperation plan for peace, according to AFP.
Tensions escalated between arch-foes Iran and the United States after devastating September 14 attacks on Saudi oil installations that Washington and Riyadh have blamed on Tehran.
Following the attacks, the United States announced on Friday that it was sending reinforcements to Saudi Arabia at “the kingdom’s request”.
In his speech on Sunday, Rouhani called on the foreign powers in the Gulf region to “stay away”.
“If they’re sincere, then they should not make our region the site of an arms race,” he said.
Rouhani said Iran will present a plan for securing the Gulf with the help of other countries in the region to the United Nations in the coming days.
“In this sensitive and important historical moment, we announce to our neighbors, that we extend the hand of friendship and brotherhood to them,” he said.
