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TEHRAN, Dec. 30-- "The United States is only fueling insecurity in the Gulf through its presence in the strategic region," said Chairman of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri on Sunday. "The Americans have always sowed insecurity wherever they had a presence," Baqeri told reporters in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, according to Press TV. He emphasized that the Gulf countries are capable of ensuring security on their own and the U.S. presence in the region has only created insecurity. On Saturday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the U.S. military presence in the Gulf is "illegal" and would create tension in the region. Recent deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier to the Gulf would also add to the tensions, Zarif said. The U.S. aircraft carrier, the John C. Stennis, arrived in the oil-rich region on Dec. 21 following the return of U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil exports in November. The U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May. | 
