Iran reiterates opposition to hotline with US

The Iranian Army's top naval commander reiterated the country's opposition to setting up a direct military hotline with the US."We do not need to set up such a line," Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the Arab language Alalam TV network Sunday night. He reminded that Americans are complete aliens to the region and should return home. "What are they doing in this region," he asked. "This region belongs to its countries and the regional countries themselves are capable of providing it with security." "Therefore, we do not need to establish such a line," the Iranian Navy commander reiterated. Some US media outlets have recently quoted an unidentified US defense official as saying that the US is considering setting up a direct military hotline with Iran after a series of close encounters between US and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf. Iran's top military commanders quickly rejected the offer, arguing that the offer is basically wrong because the region's affairs and security are not at all related to the Americans who have travelled half the world to reach the Persian Gulf. Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Ali Fadavi was the first Iranian top commander who rejected the US request for establishing the "red phone" link, saying the US itself would reject such an offer if Iran deployed around its coastal water. "We would establish direct contact with the United States if we would ever go to the Gulf of Mexico," he said sarcastically. "In the view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the presence of the US in the Persian Gulf is illegitimate and makes no sense," he added.