‘Iran can establish regional security’

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari pointed to the Iranian Navy’s recent drills, Velayat 90, and said that during the military maneuvers, “we demonstrated that we are capable of establishing the security of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and northern Indian Ocean.” On December 24, Iran's Navy launched the 10-day Velayat 90 naval exercise, covering an area stretching from the east of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden. Sayyari went on to say that, in line with the instructions of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iran will continue boosting its presence in the international waters. He also announced that the Iranian Navy has detained 13 pirates 3,000 kilometers off Iran’s territorial waters. The pirates were captured in the Indian Ocean after they tried to seize a cargo ship loaded with commodities heading for Iran, the Iranian Navy commander said, adding that the detained were being transferred to Iran. Earlier on March 10, Sayyari said the country’s 18th fleet of warships had been deployed to the international waters to conduct anti-piracy patrol. The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard maritime trade and in particular ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran. In May 2011, International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos described the anti-piracy efforts by Iran's Navy as “effective.”