Iran has firmly rejected a US-led military security summit hosted in Bahrain, with a senior diplomat declaring that the strategic Strait of Hormuz falls exclusively under Tehran’s operational purview not that of Washington’s regional military headquarters.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, made the assertion in a post on his X account early Thursday, directly pushing back against the gathering convened by US Central Command (CENTCOM). “Hormuz is defined under Iran’s command, not CENTCOM,” Gharibabadi wrote, emphasizing that the Bahrain summit lacks the legal and operational legitimacy to establish order and security in the Persian Gulf.
The Iranian official elaborated that genuine regional stability will only materialize through the cessation of foreign interventions, the complete withdrawal of US military forces from the region, unwavering respect for the sovereignty of littoral states, and the acknowledgment of evolving geopolitical realities. He stressed that security cannot be imposed under the protective military umbrella of the United States, which Iran views as an occupying rather than stabilizing presence.
The summit, hosted on Wednesday in Manama by CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper, brought together military officials from numerous allied nations to discuss maritime security coordination in the Gulf. The gathering is part of broader US efforts to counter what Washington describes as Iranian threats to international shipping lanes in the strategic waterway, a vital chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supply transits.
Iran has consistently opposed foreign military deployments in the Gulf, arguing that regional security arrangements must be led by local powers without extra-regional interference. Thursday’s remarks represent Tehran’s latest diplomatic rebuff to US-led security frameworks, as tensions persist over naval encounters, nuclear negotiations, and broader military posturing in the Middle East.
Source: Iranian media (edited by Al-Manar)