Tasnim � Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri praised the country�s Navy for its fight against piracy in international waters.

During a visit to the port city of Jask in the southern province of Hormozgan on Tuesday, Major General Baqeri hailed Iran�s Navy as the only self-reliant military force in the world that is fighting against piracy.

He also highlighted Iran�s efforts to ensure security of its southern maritime borders, saying that development of the southeastern Makran coasts and protection of sea border security make up Iran�s defense strategy.

�Ensuring the security of sea lanes for Iranian trade vessels and oil tankers in high seas is also a duty of the Islamic Republic of Iran�s Navy, which has been well fulfilled,� the general added.

In a meeting with Navy commanders in November, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei praised as �great and fabulous� the advances that Iranian military forces, the Navy in particular, have made since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, saying the Navy�s success in bringing into service homegrown vessels such as the Sahand destroyer or Fateh and Qadir submarines heralds more progress day after day.

Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great headways in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient in the arms sphere.