In a televised broadcast, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said last September that Iran has property rights in the South Pole.
“We have property rights in the South Pole. We have a plan to raise our flag there and carry out military and scientific work,” says Irani.
Iran’s declaration came coinciding with the announcement of the Biden administration to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian funds that were being controlled in Qatar.
According to the Antarctic Treaty: “There can be no military bases or structures of any kind, no military maneuvers and no weapons testing. Military personnel can be used or stationed in Antarctica for science or other peaceful reasons only.”
However, a US department official denied that Iran’s funds, which were held in Qatar, may be used for any activities in Antarctica.
“Those funds can only be used to purchase humanitarian goods, meaning food, medicine, medical devices, and agricultural products.”
Pres. Ebrahim Raisi of Iran slammed the statement and said that these billion dollars worth of funds will be used “wherever we need it.”
Irani further said, “Moreover, in order to build a base, certain things that are necessary for construction must be taken into account, and the most important thing is that we must have constant contact with this base.”
“We are trying to send a group to that region for environmental studies. Today, there is this self-belief, and in our opinion, this capability exists in the country.”
The Navy Commander also added that they plan to expand its naval presence in international waters in line with their efforts to strengthen and widen its military reach.
Press TV, a state-owned media outlet, interviewed Rear Commander Habibollah Sayyari, who said, “We have the capability to hoist Iran’s flag in different regions from the North Poles to the South Pole and we are preparing plans for a presence near the South Pole.”
“However, we will never enter the maritime borders of others and we will not allow anybody to enter even a centimeter into our territorial waters.”
Iran’s move would signal alarm to countries who signed the global treaty and worsen the already growing conflict between Iran and its “enemies.”
In 1959, 12 nations agreed to sign the Antarctica Treaty, which ruled that “no new claim or enlargement of an existing claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica shall be asserted while the present Treaty is in force.”
The property claim also occurred as the US and Iran’s international relations sunk to major lows as the latter supported the Hamas terrorists in their attack on Israel last October 7.
Houthi rebels, funded by Iran, also launched attacks from Yemen on commercial ships traversing along the Red Sea.
