Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani says the deployment of the Alborz destroyer to the Red Sea has nothing to do with the regional situation.

According to The Iran Project,Speaking to IRNA’s defense and security correspondent, Irani said the Islamic Republic does not regard the situation in the region as complicated.

“The deployment of the Alborz destroyer to the Red Sea is in line with the permanent missions of the [Iranian] Navy and the escort of oil tankers of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

He further said the destroyer will safeguard the security of Iranian ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.
According to Irani, the 96th flotilla has also been deployed to the Red Sea recently and the 97th flotilla will soon join the Iranian naval forces in the strategic region as well.

Conveying a message of peace and friendship to all countries, announcing Iran’s readiness for multilateral relations with different countries, and strengthening the country’s defense diplomacy and naval clout are among the goals of the deployments, he added.

The Alborz destroyer entered the Red Sea on January 1, amid the Yemeni armed forces’ retaliatory attacks on Israeli-linked ships in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rear Admiral Irani said the country’s seizure of a US-linked ship in the Sea of Oman was a response to the US theft of Iranian oil.

“We will respond decisively if the rights of our people are encroached upon,” he asserted.