Iranโs Navy commander announced in a televised broadcast last fall that the regime owns Antarctica and will build a military operation in the South Pole. They have announced this every year since 2007.
“We have property rights in the South Pole. We have a plan to raise our flag there and carry out military and scientific work,” Iranian Navy Commanderย Rear Admiral Shahram Irani saidย in late September and again recently, according to a translation by the Washington D.C.-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
Our scientists are getting ready for a joint operation, encompassing the efforts of all our people, in keeping with the guidelines of our Leader.โ
Fox Digital Report
“Itโs an arcane topic, but little lies between Iranโs coast outside the Persian Gulf and the eastern hemisphere side of Antarctica,” Jennifer Dyer, a retired commander of U.S. Naval Intelligence, told Fox News Digital.
“In theory, Iran could claim an interest in Antarctica similar to Indiaโs, Australiaโs, New Zealandโs or Chileโs (or those of the U.K. and France, for that matter), with their island outposts in the southern hemisphere.
“I can say that raising the flag at the South Pole doesnโt carry anyย implications in international law. The Antarctic Treaty (which became effective in 1961) has a specific provision that no action by any nation after 1961 can be the basis of a territorial claim on the continent.”
“Iran isnโt a signatory to the treaty and might try to do frisky things in Antarctica,” Dyer noted. “Those things wouldnโt be recognized by other nations, at least as matters stand now. The U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Japan, India, China, and Russia are all signatories to the treaty, as are Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand, the โjumping offโ nations closest to the continent.”
We’re talking about Antarctica while our borders are open.
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