Washington, Oct 4 (ANI): Iran has reportedly rejected a proposal by the United States to establish a military-to-military hot line between Washington and Tehran.
The Iranian leader made receptive comments about the potential hot line during a visit to New York last month to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting, the Wall Street Journal reports.
In reference to the hot line idea, Ali Fadavi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) naval unit said last week that 'the Americans should make requests which have something to do with realities'.
"In the view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the illegitimate presence of the U.S. in the Persian Gulf makes no sense," he added.
The snubbing of the US idea by Iranian military leaders have increased Washington's fears about the potential for clashes between American and Iranian planes and ships operating in the oil-rich Persian Gulf.
According to US officials, the Pentagon and State Department studied establishing a direct hot line to Iran to prevent an inadvertent clash between American and Iranian military forces from escalating into a full-blown war.
US defense officials have said there have been a number of near-misses in the Persian Gulf in recent months involving IRGC speed boats challenging US and allied war ships.
According to the paper, in addition to rejecting the hot line, Iranian military officers have threatened to deploy naval forces in the Western Hemisphere, including potentially the Gulf of Mexico.
They described this stance as a tit-for-tat response to the American military's presence in the Persian Gulf.
"Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to American marine borders," said Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, commander of the Iranian navy. (ANI)
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