Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari who was speaking to the press on the occasion of commemoration of national day of navy Saturday morning, detailed about the recent operations of the navy in international waters and latest technologies the navy equipped with.
“During the Sacred Defense, the navy escorted more than 10,000 oil tankers and participated in 150 operations with prominent role in the majority of these operations,” told Sayyari to the press, “Iran is deemed a sea country and seas are important for us; we have about 3,000km of borders in northern and south and southeastern waters, with Makran being the most important,” he added.
“The mission defined for the navy totally change the logistics of the navy in 2007; as a strategic force, it changed the missions,” said the commander, “since 2007, we escorted about 2,000 ships in different regions in the sea and brought security to Gulf of Aden, Northern Indian Ocean, and other regions in the vicinity, during which we provided emergency support to 22 ships attacked by sea pirates,” he asserted.
Sayyari held that development of Makran coasts would provide exceptional grounds for moving forward to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Naval Forces; “today, all countries rely upon Iran’s navy, since it is an important player in the security of the regions it operated,” he claimed.
About future plans and projects in the navy, Sayyari told reporters that the force had recently acquired advanced anti-submarine torpedo, a capability of high value in fighting submarines; “the torpedo would be fired from under water to the air and from under water to a target under water as well,” he said. “The torpedo has successfully passed the test-firing,” he added.
Navy commander also pointed to holding a sea drill titled ‘Velayat 93,’ which he said would cover a wide region from Makran coasts to 10 degree latitude in Gulf of Aden, where surface, air, undersea, special air operation forces, and air defense units would participate.
“Damavand sea destroyer will join Navy logistics after successful test navigation; Fateh submarine is to be unveiled; both of these achievements await orders from the top command line,” Sayyari told reporters.
On sea terrorism, Sayyari emphasized that the navy had mission to fight terrorism on the sea; “This is the only way to support and defend our ships as well as others,” he said.
On his China visit, the commander said that Iran was developing trade with Southeast Asia especially China; “we discussed the support for security of Iranian trade ships and oil tankers in Iran-China sea routes,” Sayyari said.
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MNA
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