TEHRAN (ISNA)- Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said Persian Gulf is fully safe, recommending the US to escort its ships and vessels in the Gulf of Aden.

�Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Aden are completely secure due to continual presence of Iranian Army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); therefore, there is no need that Americans escort their ships in this region,� he said.

�There is one hundred percent security in Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Aden and Bab-el-Mandeb lack security, and Americans must escort their vessels in this region,� Sayyari said.

U.S. officials have recently said that they would escort their ships in Persian Gulf after Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship was recently impounded in the Persian Gulf by Iranian forces.

On April 28, Iranian forces boarded the Maersk Tigris ship carrying the Marshall Islands flag in the Strait of Hormuz, after the vessel, with 34 crew members aboard, reportedly trespassed on Iranian territorial waters.

Since the seizure of the vessel, several Iranian officials have said the case is a purely commercial affair.

A day after the ship was impounded, Iran�s Foreign Ministry defended the move as legal saying the vessel was seized by Iranian Navy forces based on a court decision.

By ISNA