US Forces Moved Over 1,000km From Iran's Border, Says Senior IRGC Official

TEHRAN, October 5. /TASS/. US forces have moved more than 1,000 km away from Iran’s border, the head of the Advisory Group to the Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said.

"The Americans have fled and moved more than 1,000km away from our borders. That was not their choice but the result of the influence of the Islamic Republic and the might of the IRGC ground force," Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said live on public broadcaster.

According to the senior Iranian military officer, for the first time ever, US warships were absent from the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman, and the northern Indian Ocean. The Strait of Hormuz has been under control of Iran for several months already, he emphasized.

Nor has the United States achieved any of the goals it set during the war, Fadavi continued. Jointly with Muscat, Tehran has developed and adopted navigation rules for the Strait of Hormuz, despite Washington’s attempt to influence the situation in the region, he said.

Apart from that, the top IRGC commander noted, captains have had to navigate the southern Strait of Hormuz because of their insurance and financial obligations as he warned that vessels traversing this route can be "subjected" to actions by the Israeli Army at any moment. Meanwhile, a mere 3 to 4 million bpd of oil, or much less than before the war, is now shipped along an alternative route outside the one designated by Tehran, he concluded.

The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding calling for an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon. However, the United States resumed large-scale attacks on Iran overnight to July 8, having accused it of breaching the existing agreements concerning the Strait of Hormuz, a global chokepoint for approximately 25% of oil and some 20% of LNG supplies.

The Trump administration recently signaled an end to any large-scale use of force against Iran and a transition to economic pressure on the Islamic Republic through sanctions instead.