Iranian Navy commander announces planned military base in South Pole
JERUSALEM:– Iran’s Navy commander declared in a televised broadcast last fall that the regime asserts ownership of Antarctica and intends to establish a military presence in the South Pole.
“We hold property rights in the South Pole. We have plans to hoist our flag there and conduct military and scientific activities,” Rear Admiral Shahram Irani stated in late September, as translated by the Washington D.C.-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
Iran’s naval provocations are gaining renewed scrutiny in light of the recent killing of three U.S. soldiers in Jordan by Iranian-backed militias.
US Newzs Digital inquired with a U.S. State Department spokesperson whether the recent unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian funds held in Qatar by the United States could potentially be utilized by Iran to establish a base in Antarctica.
“No, Iran’s funds held in Qatar may not be utilized for any activities in Antarctica,” the spokesperson clarified. “These funds are designated solely for the purchase of humanitarian goods, which include food, medicine, medical devices, and agricultural products.”
Despite the clerical regime’s growing militancy in the Middle East and across the world, according to veteran Iran observers, the Biden administration released $6 billion in sanctions relief to Tehran’s rulers ahead of the Iran-backed Hamas massacre of 1,200 people on Oct. 7 in southern Israel. Hamas slaughtered over 30 Americans during its invasion of Israel.
Iran’s President, Ebrahim Raisi, who was sanctioned by former President Trump for his role in the two massacres of Iranian dissidents and protesters, disputed the Biden administration’s restrictions on the use of the $6 billion. Raisi taunted Biden’s White House, declaring his regime will use the massive cash infusion “wherever we need it.”
“Iran’s intentions to extend its military presence and influence into the Antarctic not only contravene multilateral conventions on the matter but also perpetuate the regime’s pattern of aggression worldwide,” remarked Yonah Jeremy Bob, author of “Target Tehran” and a senior military and intelligence analyst at the Jerusalem Post.
“Whether through acts of terrorism across various continents or its widespread piracy in maritime regions, the Islamic Republic consistently demonstrates its threat to global stability. This underscores the critical importance of Israel and Mossad’s efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.”
“Each instance of Tehran extending its influence into new territories to disrupt the rules-based order endorsed by the West presents the U.S. and its allies with another chance to address the nuclear threat with greater urgency. While Antarctica may appear distant if the West responds as passively as it did when Iran recently expelled nuclear weapons inspectors, the Islamic Republic will only grow more emboldened on other fronts,” he emphasized.
In February 2023, US Newzs Digital reported that the United States had monitored aggressive statements from Iran’s navy chief, indicating Tehran’s intentions to establish a military presence at the Panama Canal. Concurrently, Iran had dispatched two military vessels to Brazil, with plans to transit through the Panama Canal.
Additionally, in December of the same year, the Islamic Republic asserted that it was developing “smart” cruise missiles to enhance its naval arsenal.
“It’s a nuanced subject, but there’s a relatively small expanse between Iran’s coastline outside the Persian Gulf and the eastern hemisphere side of Antarctica,” explained Jennifer Dyer, a retired U.S. Naval Intelligence commander, in an interview with US Newzs Digital.
“In theory, Iran could assert an interest in Antarctica akin to that of countries like India, Australia, New Zealand, or Chile, along with those of the U.K. and France, given their island outposts in the southern hemisphere.”
“I can confirm that hoisting a flag at the South Pole holds no legal implications under international law. The Antarctic Treaty, which came into effect in 1961, explicitly states that no action taken by any nation after 1961 can serve as the basis for a territorial claim on the continent,” remarked Dyer.
“Iran is not a signatory to the treaty and may attempt provocative actions in Antarctica,” Dyer observed. “However, other nations would not recognize such actions, at least under current circumstances. The United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, India, China, and Russia are all signatories to the treaty, as are Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand — the nations geographically closest to the continent.”
Potkin Azarmehr, an expert on Iran, expressed to US Newzs Digital, “Everything in Iran resembles the USSR in its final days before the collapse. The state is preoccupied with ambitious yet futile plans, plagued by misplaced priorities. It cannot deliver basic services to its citizens, with bankrupt institutions but abundant in grandiose rhetoric.”
US Newzs Digital reached out to Iran’s Foreign Ministry and its U.N. mission in New York for comments but did not receive responses to their press queries.