Commander: All States Entitled to Have Naval Presence on High Seas
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – All countries have the right to deploy naval forces in the high seas, Iranian Navy commander said, reiterating that Iran will continue its naval presence in far seas.
“We believe that presence on the high seas is every country’s right, and we will continue with this trend,” Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in a press conference here in Tehran today.
He also added that Iranian Navy has dispatched its 27th fleet of warships to the high seas as part of its maritime patrol missions.
Earlier in August, the 27th fleet of warships left for the high seas to ensure safe passage fot the Iranian commercial vessels and oil tankers.
Asked if Iran has deployed warships in the Mediterranean, as threats against Syria are escalating, the commander said, “We have not dispatched any fleet to those (Mediterranean) regions, because it has not been on our agenda.”
The war rhetoric against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused President Bashar al-Assad’s government of having launched a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21.
The Syrian government, however, denies using chemical weapons in the war and has pointed the finger at rebels, who have been engaged in a civil war with regime forces since early 2011.
The US has already four destroyers in the eastern Mediterranean, equipped with cruise missiles. In the Meantime, the Pentagon has moved a fifth warship armed with cruise missiles to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, giving the US more firepower for a possible attack on Syria in response to alleged use of chemical weapons.
As tension reached a feverish point, US President Barack Obama on Saturday delayed plans to attack Syria to seek the approval of Congress. It came after UK Parliament rejected any British participation in military action in Syria.
