Enemies dazed by Islamic Iran’s naval might

A senior Iranian army commander says enemies are amazed by Iran’s huge naval achievements, emphasizing that the presence of Iran’s frigates in international waters has caught them off guard.

Enemies are surprised by the presence of the Islamic Republic’s frigates in international waters and the Mediterranean Sea and its submarines in the Red Sea, said Iran’s Deputy Army Commander Brigadier General Abdul-Rahim Mousavi in a Sunday interview with IRNA.

They still cannot come to terms with such achievements by the Islamic republic and do not know how to make news stories about them, he added.

Mousavi pointed to the first engagement of Iran’s Yunes submarine in international waters and said major developed countries imagined that Iran’s submarines would require a long period to carry out such missions.

Early in July, Iran’s Yunes submarine, sailing alongside warships of the 14th fleet of Iran’s Navy, returned home following a near two-month-long mission in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The deployment of the Iranian military submarine in the Red Sea represented the first such mission by the country’s naval forces in far-off waters.

Mousavi’s remarks came after Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said on Friday that the country has taken major strides towards constructing new flying boats, including frigates, while planning to manufacture new weaponry.

Iran has also launched the construction of various navigational and control systems and will begin production of the remaining parts in the near future, Vahidi added.

In February, two Iranian Navy ships, Khark and Alvand, passed through the Suez Canal, a strategic international shipping route in Egypt, for the first time since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in the defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in crucial military equipment and systems.

Iran has repeatedly assured other nations, especially its neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.