“Given our forces’ power and preparedness and the type of our trainings, other countries, including China, have demanded us to train them how to repel pirate attacks against their ships,” Bayati told FNA on Tuesday.
He underlined the high power of the Iranian marines in different battlefields, and said, “The level of our commandos is not comparable with that of the regional states.”
Bayati also underlined that the Iranian army’s marine training centers always update their methods based on enemies’ threats.
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.
In a latest event late October, the Navy’s Jamaran destroyer rescued an Iranian oil tanker in the international waters after fierce battles with pirates sailing on 7 boats.
“This morning, 7 pirate boats wanted to attack an Iranian oil tanker but Jamaran destroyer rushed to the scene of the attack after an emergency request by the oil tanker and forced the pirates to flee under its heavy fire power,” Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said.
He also said that the Iranian Navy’s 36th flotilla of warships which includes Jamaran destroyer and Bushehr logistic warship has started its mission in free and international waters since late September to provide security to the country’s cargo ships and display the Islamic Republic’s might and power.
Also in September, Rear Admiral Sayyari stressed that the Iranian Navy would continue its powerful and continued presence in the international waters, specially the Gulf of Aden, where the country’s trade vessels are threatened by pirates.
“Naval forces would carry on their mission in the international seas against piracy,” Sayyari vowed during his visit to the Southeastern Makran seashore in Sistan and Baluchestan.
“Safe presence of Iranian ships in the international waters is due to powerful presence of naval forces in Makran,” he added.
farsnews.com
