Addressing a group of political, cultural, media and social elites in Kuwait, Ahmadinejad said if governments and officials of the Persian Gulf region get united, the hegemonic powers will never be able to sell billions of dollars worth of arms in the region annually and set up military bases in Islamic states.

Noting that international relations should be reconsidered, the President said regional states should expand cooperation among themselves.

His remarks came after a senior Iranian official blasted the presence of trans-regional countries in the Persian Gulf, and said the regional states should boost their cooperation to maintain security in the strategic waterway.

"We advise regional countries to question the need for foreign military presence with closer and increased cooperation and we advise the countries with military presence (in the Persian Gulf) to be sensible and refrain from committing provocative acts," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said in July.

He reiterated that the recent attack by US naval forces on an Emirati fishing boat in Persian Gulf waters proves Iran"s assertions that foreign forces pose a threat to the region.

"No one is more concerned about security and stability in the Persian Gulf than regional countries," Mehman-Parast said, adding that under the present sensitive circumstances "the presence of foreign forces is provocative and (perceived as a) threat."  

by:farsnews