Speaking to Tasnim in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, Rear Admiral Irani said the Navy’s focus on presence in faraway seas is because it demonstrates the country’s power.
It shows that despite having facing plots, threats and sanctions over the past 40 years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained steadfast and managed to stand on its own feet, he said.
The commander added that this presence has been in accordance with the orders of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces.
Rear Admiral Irani noted that the Leader has described the Navy as a strategic force and a political, international, scientific and military one.
In recent years, Iran’s naval forces have increased their presence in international waters to secure naval routes and protect merchant vessels and oil tankers against pirates.
In June last year, an Iranian Navy flotilla that included a new sea base-like ship and a destroyer entered the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
Deputy Chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told reporters at the time that the Makran forward base ship and Sahand Destroyer arrived in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time without any port calls in other countries.