Commander of the IRGC Navy's First Zone Brigadier General Abbas Gholamshahi made the statement on Monday after the United States Navy claimed its sailors and the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy came to the aid of a ship in the Strait of Hormuz after the Iranian force’s fast-attack boats “harassed” it.

Gholamshahi said the hostile media outlets acted unprofessionally without observing the media ethics and tried to provoke insecurity and instability and justify the “illegitimate and unjustifiable presence of the extra-regional countries in the Persian Gulf” by spreading false news.

Iran says the US is the primary source of insecurity in West Asia and Washington remains responsible for the instability in the region as long as its wrong and crisis-making policies are not rectified.

The senior commander stated a Marshall Islands-flagged trade vessel issued a distress call when it was approaching the Strait of Hormuz at 4:15 pm local time on Saturday.

“The command and control center of Iran at the Hormuz Strait responded to the call immediately, and resolved the ship’s concerns about the presence of non-military light boats near it after considering the request and evaluating the situation in that region,” he added.

The trade vessel’s captain had complained he had spotted “three non-military light boats” at a distance of a few miles, voicing concern about possible harassment, Brig. Gen. Gholamshahi continued.

Gholamshahi said there were no extra-regional vessels in the location where the trade vessel had requested assistance, adding that the media claims about the presence of foreign naval forces were “totally false".

Iran has repeatedly stressed that the illegitimate deployment of the American and Israeli militaries is disruptive to the security and stability 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". Tehran has cautioned that the presence of foreign naval vessels in the Persian Gulf poses a serious threat to its ecosystem and marine life.

The navy commander underscored that ensuring security and stability, carrying out rescue missions and giving timely response to distress calls in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz are the ordinary tasks that the IRGC forces perform on a routine basis.

He stressed that the responsibility to ensure the Persian Gulf security lies with the regional countries and the Persian Gulf states can protect lasting security in the strategic maritime region without the need for outsiders.

Iranian Commander: US Military Presence in Persian Gulf Significantly Declininghttps://t.co/kpDRH0o6HR pic.twitter.com/vb1W32Mpxp

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Iranian military officials say the Iranian Army and the IRGC Navies have brought stability and safety to the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. The Iranian naval forces have succeeded in escorting and protecting almost 5,000 oil tankers and commercial ships in international waters since 2008, according to Iranian officials.

They have declared the Iranian naval forces' full preparedness to fight off any plot of enemies against Tehran at its birth, stressing that the country's armed forces will teach a painful lesson to foes in case they launch any act of aggression against the country.

Tehran has repeatedly cautioned that any plan aimed at increasing US presence in the Middle East will only foment insecurity and instability and spread terrorism, asking the neighboring countries to be extremely vigilant about any US-Israeli plan that clearly aims to disturb the stability and order of the region.

Iranian officials have underlined the necessity for the settlement of the crises and problems in the region through collective cooperation among the regional states, and underscored that the presence of foreigners is harmful.