Pentagon: US isn’t leaving Persian Gulf

Pentagon press secretary George Little said Tuesday the United States will continue to operate in the Persian Gulf “as it has for decades,” in response to threats from Iran against U.S. carriers in the region.

Iran threatened last week to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil passageway in the Persian Gulf, and on Tuesday a top Iranian Army official warned a U.S. carrier not to return to the “Persian Gulf region.”

The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, has said it will stop any attempt to close down the strait.

“Our transits of the Strait of Hormuz continue to be in compliance with international law, which guarantees our vessels the right of transit passage,” Little said in a statement Tuesday. “We are committed to protecting maritime freedoms that are the basis for global prosperity; this is one of the main reasons our military forces operate in the region.”

Little said U.S. carrier movement in the region has been regularly scheduled “in accordance with our longstanding commitments to the security and stability of the region and in support of ongoing operations.”

“These carrier strike group deployments are necessary to maintain the continuity and operational support to ongoing missions in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility,” Little said.

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