The Iranian Navy will send a naval fleet comprising the domestically-built Damavand destroyer to Russia in the near future, an Iranian commander says.
Rear Admiral Afshin Rezaei Haddad, the commander of Irans Fourth Maritime Zone, made the remark in an interview with Fars News Agency on Saturday.
The Iranian fleet of warships will dock at the Russian port city of Astrakhanin the near future upon an invitation by the Russian side.
A Russian naval fleet comprising two warships, Volgodonsk and Makhachkala,docked at the Iranian port city of Anzali on August 9 as part of the bid byTehran and Moscow to boost maritime relations. It was the third visit of a Russian naval fleet to Iran.
Irans Navy also sent two warships to Russia in June 2013 to consolidate maritime relations between Tehran and Moscow.
Meanwhile, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the head of the Iranian Navy, said any visit of a foreign naval fleet to Iran, including that of Russia, will be followed by a similar trip of an Iranian naval fleet to that country to carry out missions.
In the missions, the Iranian naval commander said, modern and new vessels from the Iranian Navy will be present to demonstrate the capabilities of the Iranian experts in manufacturing big vessels.
The state-of-the-art Damavand destroyer, equipped with modern radar, electronic and reconnaissance systems, was delivered to the Iranian naval forces stationed in the northern port city of Anzali in March.
In recent years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.
The Iranian Navy launched its first domestically-built destroyer, Jamaran, in the Persian Gulf in February 2010. The 1,420-ton destroyer is equipped with modern radar systems and other electronic warfare capabilities. It also features highly advanced anti-aircraft, anti-surface and anti-subsurface systems.
Iran has repeatedly assured other nations, especially its neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.