“Today, Iran’s Navy is present in international waters as a mighty power,” Rear Admiral Sayyari told reporters on the sideline of a local ceremony in Tehran.
He referred to the recently held trilateral naval drill with China and Russia in north of Indian Ocean, and said “the exercises with two major world powers proved Iran’s military power.”
Rear Admiral Sayyari noted that Iran is providing the security of trade cargos and oil tankers voyaging in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden.
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 via the Suez Canal.
Source » farsnews