Commander: Navy Ready to Repulse All Threats to Maritime Territory
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari reasserted his forces’ ability to defend and safeguard the country’s territorial waters, saying any potential threat will face a crushing response.
“We will respond to any country that violates Iran’s territorial waters,” Sayyari said in a gathering of navy personnel in northern Iran.
Referring to the significant role of Iranian naval forces in ensuring security of the country’s trade cargoes in all shipping routes, the commander said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Navy has the honor to provide security for Iran’s fleet of commercial vessels in international waters.”
He further pointed to the navy’s successful missions to thwart a series of pirate attacks against Iranian vessels in the Gulf of Aden, adding that pirates faced a strong response from the naval forces when they were trying to seize one of the country’s biggest oil tankers some days ago.
On Friday, in a third such pirate attack in less than two weeks, the Iranian warships managed to save a gas carrier vessel belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran from armed pirates in the Gulf of Aden.
And in relevant remarks on September 28, Rear Admiral Sayyari pointed to the navy’s missions in the high seas, saying, “We have been even providing security some 3,000 kilometers off the country’s maritime borders and in the Gulf of Aden for 4 years.”
Since November 2008, the Iranian navy has conducted anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mendeb strait to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates.
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 the pirates and, after giving notice to Somali government, enter Somali territorial in pursuit of the pirates.
