TEHRAN, Sep. 28 (MNA) – Iran will establish a permanent station in Antarctica, the army navy commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said on Thursday.

"We have ownership in Antarctica and the plan is to hoist the Iranian flag there and establish a permanent bas," Admiral Irani said on Thursday in an interview.

Iranian officials have previously talked about the need for a permanent station in Antarctica. For example, Managing Director of the Iranian National Institute for Oceanography (INIO) Vahid Chegini told Iranian media back in 2012 that there were plans for a permanent station at the South Pole within the following three years, a plan that has yet to materialize.

MNA