TEHRAN – Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian has dismissed Washington’s deployment of warships to the Caribbean as a threat to international peace and security.

“The US government’s deployment of warships to the Caribbean and Venezuelan coasts under hollow pretexts is a completely illegal move, in violation of international rules and a dangerous precedent in posing a threat to global peace and security, and the Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns this action,” said Pezeshkian in a phone conversation with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro.

Pezeshkian reiterated Iran’s support for the independence, security and stability of Venezuela, saying Tehran keeps a close watch on the developments in the Caribbean and US movements, and declares its full solidarity with the Venezuelan government and nation.

His remarks come amid a sharp increase in US military deployments across the Caribbean, carried out under the pretext of anti-drugs operations.

Since late August, Washington has sent warships, surveillance aircraft, and special operations units to the southern Caribbean, culminating this month with the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group.

The US has since launched dozens of strikes on vessels, killing more than 80 people, claiming they were drug traffickers, while failing to provide any evidence to back up the claims. Legal experts have condemned the US military’s extrajudicial killing of victims as unlawful.

Meanwhile, most US citizens oppose a potential military invasion of Venezuela as part of the so-called fight against drug cartels, according to a poll conducted by CBS News among nearly 2,500 Americans.

The results showed that 70% of respondents opposed military action and 76% said that US President Donald Trump's administration did not clearly explain its position to voters.

Also, 53% of respondents supported US military attacks on boats suspected of drug trafficking, but 72% said that Washington should provide evidence that drugs were being transported on them.