Bloomberg – World News, Oct 28, 2008 – Iran opened a naval base on the Strait of Hormuz that’s capable of keeping foreign forces out of the Persian Gulf, the chief of the Iranian navy said.

“With this naval base, a new line of defense was created in the Persian Gulf,’’ Admiral Habibollah Sayyari was cited today as saying by state-run Fars News. “If necessary, we can prevent any enemy from entering the Persian Gulf’s strategic area.’’

The naval chief said the facility, which was inaugurated yesterday, is needed because of the presence of foreign forces in the region. The base in the southern port of Jask, 1,050 miles (1,690 kilometers) south of Tehran, is in the eastern part of the strait at the entrance to the Gulf.

The Strait of Hormuz has been the focus of increasing tension in recent months. Iran has said it may close the strait should the U.S. attack the country over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment as part of its nuclear program. Some 20 percent of the world’s oil is shipped through the strait, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

A spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain had no immediate comment on the base opening, saying he wasn’t aware of the Iranian report and would look into it.

The Fifth Fleet held maneuvers on July 7 to practice protecting Persian Gulf oil rigs. Days later Iran said its military test-fired a missile with a 2,000-kilometer range.
Revolutionary Guards