An Iranian oil tanker came under attack from eight pirate vessels today in Bab-el-Mandeb Strait linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, but the pirates’ assault was successfully thwarted by the 32nd naval fleet of Iran.
It is worth mentioning that at the time of the attack, Iran was conducting a massive joint military drill in the area which was launched on Dec. 25 to be carried out for six days.
The military drill dubbed Mohammad the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) started Dec. 25, covering a 2.2 million square kilometers from the east of the Strait of Hormuz down to the Gulf of Aden.
The Islamic Republic’s 32nd fleet including the Jamaran destroyer and Bushehr logistic gunboat that were participating in the army’s ongoing drill repelled the pirates’ attack and rescued the Iranian oil tanker.
The fleet has been given orders to protect the shipping lanes where the Iranian ships would travel and also to assist the foreign ships requiring emergency assistance in the Gulf of Aden.
Iran’s Navy chief, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, had said on Saturday that the largest missile drill in the history of military exercises in Iran would start Sunday, Dec. 28.
Commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces Brigadier General Ahmadreza Pourdastan had also noted that the drills were unparalleled after the 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran in terms of the number of troops and the presence of Iran’s Army forces.
Iran has never launched an aggressive war in modern history, and its leadership adheres to a doctrine of no first strike.
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