majalah militer

February 21, 2009, Tehran -- Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced that he has started dispatching his forces to international waters and open seas.

"As contemplated and ordered by the Supreme Commander of the (Iranian) Armed Forces (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei), we are entitled to be present in the seas in which other countries are present," Sayyari told FNA here on Friday.

"This move has been started in a bid to preserve the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran and to hoist Iran's glorious flag," he added.

According to the plan - called 'Velayat Plan' - Iran's Navy will take missions from east of the Hormoz Strait to Govatr and Pasabandar ports which covers Iran's territorial waters and large parts of the Indian Ocean.

The Iran has set up new naval bases in such regions as the port of Jaask in the southern Persian Gulf waters for the same purpose.

Navy sources said that all the required infrastructures have been developed for Iran's presence in international waters and that presence of the country's naval forces will be boosted after building of modern equipment like destroyers.

Iran has recently started dispatching groups of destroyers to the high seas to display its naval power.

Commander of one of the Iranian warships, which has just returned home from a 30-day-long trip to the Indian Ocean, told FNA that the ship traveled to Iranian port of Chabahar from (Iranian southern port of) Bandar Abbas via international waters and passed the waters near Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka and anchored in Muscat.

The commander also said that the goal of the mission was conveying the Iranian nation's message of peace to the world's nations.(Fars)