...Iran's moderatepresident, which he is, relative to his predecessor, which doesn't mean he's anything but a puppet of the nearest holy man...
said that his country had succeeded in ensuring the security of the Gulf waters, stressing that "it will remain Persian forever, not the Gulf of Washington or New York."
Rouhani’s comments came in what is known in Tehran as the "Persian Gulf Day"
In this context, Abu al-Fadl Shukarji, a front man for the Iranian armed forces, told state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
that "the United States will receive a stronger blow than before if it attacks the Iranian waters and the interests of our people in the Gulf waters," considering that Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian boats "comes within the framework of psychological warfare and his endeavor to gain privileges in the presidential election."
Shukarji asserted that the American forces in the Gulf polluted the waters and exposed them to fishermen and merchant ships, and they are entitled to cross from international waters when they do not harm others.