Ensuring Security, Iranian Fleets’ Top Overseas Objective: Commander
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said his forces are deployed to the international waters with the main purpose of ensuring maritime security and fighting piracy.
“The Navy’s fleets are deployed to establish security in the northern part of the Indian Ocean, and escort the Islamic Republic of Iran’s trade vessels and oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in the fight against pirates,” the commander told reporters in Tehran on Monday.
His comments came after the Navy’s 36th flotilla of warships set sail for the international waters on Thursday.
Comprising Bushehr logistic vessel and Jamaran destroyer, the fleet departed Iran’s southern coasts for the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Since November 2008, the Iranian navy has conducted anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb Strait to protect the country’s vessels against pirate attacks.
Under the terms of several UN Security Council resolutions, nations can deploy warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia to protect their vessels against pirates and, after giving notice to Somali government, enter Somali territorial waters in pursuit of the pirates.
