TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of Iran's 33rd fleet of warships Commodore Ahmadi Kermanshahi categorically rejected an Arab media report alleging that his flotilla has been driven out of the Gulf of Aden by Egyptian warships.
Commodore Kermnanshahi's remarks came after a news website belonging to a Persian Gulf Arab state claimed that the Iranian warships were forced to leave the region after receiving a warning from Egyptian warships.
"Our warships had no contact with Egyptian vessels and when the website was making these allegations, they were in India's Cochin port," the Iranian Navy commander said.
He underlined that the presence of Iran's naval warships in the Gulf of Aden is aimed at establishing security for cargo ships and sending message of peace and friendship to the regional countries.
The Iranian Navy's 33rd flotilla of warships, comprises of martyr vice-admiral Naqdi destroyer and Bandar Abbas logistic warship.
The Iranian flotilla has several missions, including cadet training, and Commodore Ahmadi Kermanshahi said that the Navy cadets are undergoing practical training during the several-thousand-kilometer-long voyage.
The 33rd fleet of warships left Bandar Abbas port in Southern Iran for the Gulf of Aden late February to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates.
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.