TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari voiced the country’s preparedness to expand its collaborations with other countries in a bid to secure peace and stability in international waters.

In a Sunday meeting with military attachés of other countries here in Tehran, Sayyari pointed to exterritorial marine operations as one of the most important factors in global friendship.

Therefore, Sayyari added, Iran is trying to increase its diplomatic marine ties with other countries.

Iran’s Navy is ready to maintain its close cooperation with the navies of friendly countries, and expand it in a bid to provide peace, stability, and security in remote international waters, he noted.

Iran is prepared to cooperate with its friendly countries in such fields as exchange of trainers and students, manufacturing of marine equipment, organization of international conferences at different levels, exchange of marine information focused on anti-piracy, fight against trafficking and dangerous materials, fight against water pollutions, and other marine issues, Sayyari said.

He also referred to the need for cooperation among Middle Eastern countries to establish security in the Indian Ocean, saying that "Iran believes regional states are capable of providing desirable security in these waters through interaction."

In recent years, the Iranian Navy has been regularly deploying flotillas to the international waters, mainly to combat piracy.

In the last year’s final week, the Navy staged large-scale drills, codenamed “Muhammad Rasulullah” (Muhammad, the messenger of God), at an area of 2.2 million square kilometers, stretching from the northern Indian Ocean (10 degrees latitude) to the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf and in the southern and southeastern Iranian provinces of Hormozgan and Sistan and Balouchestan.

By Tasnim News Agency