Another top Iranian official weighed in Wednesday about the tensions brewing between his country and the United States , the latest salvo in the war of words over the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf . `` We have always stated that there is no need for the forces belonging to the countries beyond this region to have a presence in the Persian Gulf , '' Brig . Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said Wednesday , the semiofficial Fars News Agency reported . `` Their presence does nothing but create mayhem , and we never wanted them to be present in the Persian Gulf . '' His statement is the latest rhetoric stemming from Iran 's threat last week to close the strategically important Strait of Hormuz . The strait , the only outlet from the Persian Gulf , is a critical shipping lane , with 17 million barrels of oil per day passing through in 2011 , according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency . Iran threatened to block the strait if sanctions were imposed on its oil exports . France , Britain and Germany have proposed sanctions to punish Iran 's lack of cooperation on its nuclear program . Cmdr . Amy Derrick Frost , spokeswoman for the U.S. 5th Fleet based in Bahrain , responded at the time , `` Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations ; any disruption will not be tolerated . '' Answering a reporter 's question Wednesday about the closing of the strait , Vahidi said , `` The security of the Strait of Hormuz is one of the issues that Iran is concerned with , and the Islamic Republic has been maintaining this security . '' He emphasized that Iran is a regional power and will always protect the strait . `` Of course the enemies try to exaggerate this issue in order to secure weapons sales to the countries of this region , '' he said . Vahidi said a number of observers from other countries had been present during Iran 's recent military exercises in and around the strait , and suggested that Iran could hold joint maneuvers with neighboring countries , Fars said . Iran warned the United States on Tuesday not to return a U.S. aircraft carrier group `` to the Persian Gulf region . '' Maj. Gen. Ataollah Salehi , commander of Iran 's army , said his country `` will not adopt any irrational move , but it is ready to severely react against any threat , '' the Islamic Republic News Agency said . U.S. officials rejected the warning . The commander spoke at the Port of Chabahar in southern Iran , as forces held a military parade the day after Iran ended naval drills in the region , IRNA reported . The USS John C. Stennis , part of the U.S. Navy 's fleet in the region , moved last week from the Persian Gulf into the North Arabian Sea as part of what the 5th Fleet called a preplanned transit . Iran said the ship 's movement in relation to Iran 's naval exercises showed that the United States `` understood '' that Iran 's maneuvers were not `` suicidal or aggressive , '' but rather about Iran protecting its own `` interests and power . '' But Western diplomats last week described the naval drills -- which , according to Iranian officials , included test-firing missiles -- as further evidence of Iran 's volatile behavior . Iran 's naval exercises began in the strait and also included waters in the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean up to the Gulf of Aden , according to IRNA . After Tuesday 's warning from Iran , a Pentagon spokesman issued a statement saying `` deployment of U.S. military assets in the Persian Gulf region will continue as it has for decades . '' The United States has had forces in the Persian Gulf since World War II . Its ships sail through the Persian Gulf frequently , many on their way to and from the 5th Fleet 's headquarters in Bahrain . The 5th Fleet 's area of responsibility covers about 2.5 million square miles , including the Persian Gulf , which the Navy also refers to as the Arabian Gulf ; the Red Sea ; the Gulf of Oman ; and parts of the Indian Ocean .
Iran 's defense minister spoke out over the warship . The Persian Gulf and the Strait of Gibraltar are critical areas . The United States has had interests in the Persian Gulf for decades .