The Islamic Republic of Iran is laying claim to the uninhabited continent of Antarctica, with plans to expand the regime’s military and scientific activities at the South Pole. News of Iran’s polar expansion—which would possibly violate multiple international treaties—comes amid escalating tensions between the West and Iranian proxies throughout the Middle East.
In a video statement released in late September but not obtained by Western media until Thursday, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani confirmed his government’s plan to “build a permanent base” in Antarctica.
“We have property rights in the South Pole,” Irani declared, according to a translation from the DC-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). “Our plan is to raise the flag there, inshallah [Allah willing]. It is not only military work but also scientific work that needs to be carried out.”
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“Our scientists are getting ready for a joint operation, encompassing the efforts of all our people, in keeping with the guidelines of our Leader, inshallah,” he continued.
As retired US Naval Intelligence Commander Jennifer Dyer told Fox News, Iran’s southern coastline outside the Persian Gulf technically grants it access to the southern continent.
“In theory, Iran could claim an interest in Antarctica similar to India’s, Australia’s, New Zealand’s or Chile’s (or those of the UK and France, for that matter), with their island outposts in the southern hemisphere,” she said. “I can say that raising the flag at the South Pole doesn’t carry any 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.”
However, Dyer noted that Iran is not a signatory to the Antarctic Treaty, and therefore might “try to do frisky things” in the area.
“Those things wouldn’t be recognized by other nations, at least as matters stand now,” she continued. “The US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, India, China and Russia are all signatories to the treaty, as are Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Australia and New Zealand, the ‘jumping off’ nations closest to the continent.”
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While Iran’s Antarctic expansion went largely unreported for months, the regime’s recent string of hostile activities—including the murder of three American soldiers by Iran-backed militias in Jordan last month—have called new attention to the plan. Iran’s connections to the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas in Gaza, and other militant groups in Syria and Lebanon have likewise escalated tensions with the United States.
Despite these hostilities, the Biden administration reached an agreement with Qatar in October to unfreeze $6 billion in Iranian assets as part of a prisoner exchange. The administration denied that these funds could be used for military expansion, insisting that they were only authorized for “purchasing humanitarian goods, meaning food, medicine, medical devices and agricultural products.” However, Iran has mocked these restrictions and said that it will use the money “wherever we need it.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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