Iran key component of regional economic

"Iran is the heart of the region and is the key component in any economic and political mechanism in the region," Safavi said on Monday, stressing, "No economic, political and security mechanisms can be formed in the region without Iran." "Iran's weight in political, economic and security discussions is determining," he added. He pointed to Iran's 2,000-kilometere-long coastal borderline in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and said the Persian Gulf is the source of 63% to 65% of the world energy resources and Iran's role cannot be ignored in this area. "Anyone who wants to transfer energy (supplies) from this region should eventually come into terms with Iran and we are a major power which provides security for the world energy, a world which needs this region's energy," Safavi said. The Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the strategic Persian Gulf waterway, is a major oil shipping route. An estimated 40 percent of the world's oil supply passes through the waterway. In relevant remarks in February, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi had also stressed Iran's key role in the Persian Gulf region, and stated that the ongoing efforts to ignore Iran's role in the sensitive region are futile. Enemy's efforts to ignore Iran's role in the Persian Gulf is in "vain", Vahidi said, addressing the first International Persian Gulf Oceanography Conference. He reiterated that enemies cannot weaken Iran's key role in regional and international policies. These efforts are all useless since the Islamic Republic of Iran would not retreat from its benefits in the Persian Gulf, Vahidi said.