Iran warns foreign warships in Persian Gulf

"The transit of ships via Persian Gulf is not illegal, but presence of foreign warships in the Persian Gulf on the pretext of thwarting threats is unacceptable," Firouzabadi said. 

He said that the Iranian navy fleet is in full control of the region investigating destination and cargo of any ship or vessel moving to pass through the area. 

"The Iranian navy warships are stationed in the Persian Gulf waters and they permit the transit of foreign ships after registering their name and other details," he added. 

He noted that the transit of American, British, French and Russian vessels to the Persian Gulf are taking place for many years and it shows their grudge for the region's oil resources. 

"The foreign countries have signed pacts with each other according to which each of them account for some the expenses of their presence in the region for plundering the region's oil resources," Major-General Firouzabadi said. 

He pointed out that the southern territorial coast of the Islamic Republic of Iran spread from the north of the Persian Gulf to the Strait of Hormuz. 

The Iranian Army Navy and the IRGC Navy have tight cooperation in controlling the country's waterways and protecting Iran's interests inside territorial waters and in the high seas. 

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei in a ceremony to commemorate the National Navy Day in November praised the close cooperation between the naval forces of the Islamic Republic Army and the IRGC. 

Iran's naval power has even been acknowledged by foes. In a Sep. 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy also said that in the two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the Islamic Republic has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces. 

According to the report, Iran's Navy has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force and is effectively in control of the world's oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz. 

The study says that if Washington takes military action against the Islamic Republic, the scale of Iran's response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets. 

The Islamic Republic's top military officials have repeatedly warned that in case of an attack by either the US or Israel, the country would target 32 American bases in the Middle East and close the strategic Strait of Hormuz. 

An estimated 40 percent of the world's oil supply passes through the waterway. 

A recent study by a fellow at Harvard's Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Caitlin Talmadge, warned that Iran could use mines as well as missiles to block the strait, and that "it could take many weeks, even months, to restore the full flow of commerce, and more time still for the oil markets to be convinced that stability had returned". 

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France's decision to sell two warships to Russia has sparked controversy

France's decision to sell two warships to Russia has sparked controversy, with Russia's neighbors, mainly, suggesting that Paris may have forged the way for other Western countries to deal with the Kremlin in trade ranging from high-tech military equipment to oil rights.
The deal, negotiated for months, marks the first major defense sale between a NATO member state and Russia.

"I think this is a mistake," Lithuanian Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene told reporters as the Paris government trumpeted its success, writing "France wins" on the presidential palace Web site.
"This is a precedent, when a NATO and EU member sells offensive weaponry to a country whose democracy is not at a level that would make us feel calm."
Lithuania and fellow Baltic states Latvia and Estonia -- which were ruled by Moscow until 1991 -- have been the most vocal critics of the deal since talks began between France and Russia in 2009. Washington, at the time, also expressed reservations about the sale.

Designed to attack the shore from the sea, the French Mistral class is viewed as an ideal weapon for Russia against possible uprising by nearby countries.
The price tag for each vessel is estimated at around $380 million and the building venture will be a 50-50 project.
The boxy Mistral amphibious assault ship can carry 16 heavy or 35 light helicopters, dozens of tanks, 450 personnel and up to 70 armored vehicles, including 13 battle tanks.
Military experts have been less apprehensive about the deal.
Paris defense expert Pierre Conesa told Voice of America that the Baltic states should potentially readdress their relations with Russia.
"Their past and ours are quite different. They have been occupied by the Soviet Union, or in the case of Georgia, in conflicts with Russia. But the best way to stabilize and establish peaceful relations with Russia is probably to treat Moscow as a partner," Conesa said.
He said the context of the sale was important and indicative of NATO's improved relations with Russia. So much, in fact, that during the alliance's summit in Lisbon in November, NATO invited Russia to collaborate on a missile defense shield.
"You must pay attention to the fact that on an anti-missile defense system, the cooperation will be deeper and probably more sensitive technologically than on a Mistral system," he said.
Details of their deployment have yet to be divulged by Russian military officials but it has been publicly suggested that use of the Mistral ships will be made in the Northern and Pacific fleets.
The first Mistral-class ship is to be completed within 36 months once Russia makes an advance payment scheduled for January. Related tags .....