TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's 34th fleet of warships left the Omani port of Muscat on Wednesday on a patrolling mission in the Indian Ocean for protecting the country's ships and interests in the international waters.

Iran's 34th fleet, consisting of Alborz destroyer and Bushehr helicopter-carrier warship, left Iran on April 8 and started its mission in the Indian Ocean, the Sea of Oman and the Gulf of Aden.

The Iranian warships then berthed in Muscat on June 8 after nearly two months of patrolling mission.

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 via the Suez Canal.

By Fars News Agency