Commander Highlights Iranian Navy’s Strong Presence in Gulf of Aden
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari praised the military might of his forces, saying that the Navy has “strong presence” in the Gulf of Aden to ensure safe passage for Iranian vessels.
“The distance between Iran’s (southern port city of) Bandar Abbas and the Gulf of Aden is about 2,500 kilometers, and the Navy, as a strategic force, have strong presence in that region,” Admiral Sayyari said on Tuesday.
He also pointed to the Navy’s recent achievement to foil a pirate attack around the Bab-el-Mandeb, a strait between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, saying that Iran has been successful in ensuring security in the region.
Iranian Navy’s public relations office announced on Monday that the Gulf of Aden pirates, on board two boats, launched an attack on an Iranian oil tanker on March 20 and forced the vessel to stop.
Afterwards, a naval group tasked with protecting the trade vessels rushed to the zone and shooed away the pirates, who returned three hours later, this time on board six speedboats armed with semi-heavy weapons. The attackers fled ultimately after hours of heavy clash with the Iranian servicemen.
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.
