IRNA � Iran's navy fleet will continue its presence in the free waters in order to safeguard the country's national interests, said the Deputy Commander of Iran's Navy.

�Iran will dispatch as much navy fleets to open seas as it is required to secure national interests,� said Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

�Iran has access to open seas and should maintain persistent presence there. If we leave opens seas, others will take advantage of being there,� he added.

Admiral Mousavi pointed out that dispatching navy fleets to Atlantic Ocean is in the itinerary of Iran's navy and will be done when needed and by the order of commanders, what had also been done before.

He pointed to the US� cruel and unilateral sanctions against Iran, and said, 'Despite the sanctions which Iran has faced since the beginning of the Islamic revolution, the country has maintained its development trend.'

�Sanctions couldn�t prevent Iran�s defensive developments and the country witnesses the production of modern equipments every day,� Mousavi stressed while referring to the domestically-made Kowsar fighter jet and other advanced missile systems built by Iranian defense experts.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he reiterated that the enemies have realized that building missile systems has given great deterrence power to Iran, thus the army seeks to continually upgrade defensive technologies and equipments.