TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian legislator lauded the country’s naval forces for their successes in repelling pirate attacks and providing a safe passage for Iranian and foreign cargo vessels and oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.
“The Iranian Navy and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) are powerfully
present in the international waters, and they can safeguard Iran’s national
interests in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and open seas,” member of the
parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Ahmad Shohani said
on Saturday.
He noted that Iran’s successful anti-piracy missions
reaffirm the country’s capabilities in defending its interests anywhere in the
world.
In similar remarks earlier this month, Iranian Navy Commander
Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari lauded his forces for their success in repelling
pirate attacks and providing a safe passage for Iranian and foreign cargo ships
and oil tankers.
“We have had no piracy in the last 6 months and that
signifies the power of the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the seas
since it has been able to ensure security in the said regions,” Sayyari told FNA
in Iran’s Northern city of Bandar Anzali, adding that the Navy is conducting
anti-piracy missions in the North of the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and Bab
el-Mandeb.
“Almost 3,000 ships have so far been escorted and the
shipping routes are now secured,” the commander stated, adding that his forces
have so far had about 130 clashes with pirates.
In January, the 24th
fleet, including two warships named Sabalan and Khark, were dispatched from the
first naval zone on an extraterritorial mission to defend the country’s cargo
ships and oil tankers against the continued attacks by pirates.
The
Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since
November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV
Delight, off the coast of Yemen.
According to UN Security Council
resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and
coastal waters of Somalia against the pirates and even with prior notice to
Somali government enter the territorial waters of that country in pursuit of
Somali sea pirates.
The Gulf of Aden – which links the Indian Ocean with
the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea – is an important energy corridor,
particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West through the Suez
Canal.
Source: http://english.farsnews.com/
