TEHRAN (FNA)- Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari underlined his forces' power and resolve to protect the Iranian vessels sailing in the international waters.
"The Iranian Navy protects the country's vessels in the international waters and is present in the Indian Ocean, Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and even in the waters South of India and the Strait of Malacca to provide secure passage for Iranian cargo ships and oil tankers," Sayyari said, addressing a gathering in the Southern province of Bushehr on Sunday.

He said that in the last 6 years, Iran's naval forces have escorted 2,400 vessels in the aforementioned waterways and has had 150 clashes with the pirates who intended to hijack the passing vessels.

The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.

According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the pirates and even with prior notice to Somali government enter the territorial waters of that country in pursuit of Somali sea pirates.

The Gulf of Aden - which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea - is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West through the Suez Canal.

By Fars News Agency

 

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