Tension rises over oil exports from Persian Gulf

Iran has full control of the Persian Gulf, and the US Navy does not belong there, the head of the navy of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, General Alireza Tangsiri, said on Monday.

The remarks, as according to the Tasnim news agency, come at a time when Tehran has suggested that it could take military action in the Gulf to block oil exports of other regional countries in retaliation for US sanctions intended to halt its oil sales. The United States maintain a fleet in the Gulf which protects oil shipping routes.

Tangsiri said Iran had full control of both the Persian Gulf itself and the Strait of Hormuz that leads into it. Closing off the strait would be the most direct way of blocking shipping.

"We can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the presence of aliens like the US and the countries whose home is not in here," he said.

Tension between Iran and the United States has escalated since US president Donald Trump pulled out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and reimposed sanctions.

Senior US officials have said they aim to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero.

Iran's leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last month that he supports the idea that if Iran is not allowed to export oil then no country should export oil from the Gulf.