Speaking to Iran National TV channel 1, Deputy Chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that in order to be able to use the resources and interests in waters and in order to be able to maintain its own security, Iran must have a presence everywhere in the sea.
"When maritime security is not established, marine resources cannot be used. Previously until ten or fifteen years ago, when we dominated the high sea, many of our country's food resources were caught and stolen by other countries, but now with the permanent deployment of naval forces, everything is under control and security is maintained in the seas," admiral Sayyari said.
"Now, great things have happened on Makran coast [in the south of Iran], ..., and the army and the IRGC, especially the army navy, are present," he added.
The remarks came after it was announced that the Iranian army Navy seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Sea of Oman and directed it toward Iran's territorial waters after the tanker hit an Iranian vessel and tried to flee in violation of maritime regulations.
According to the public relations department of the Iranian Army, the foreign vessel collided with an Iranian fishing craft in the Persian Gulf late on Wednesday.
A number of crew members of the Iranian ship sustained injuries as a result of the impact, and two are still missing, Press TV reported.
MNA/FNA14020208000186
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