Commander: Navy Fully Prepared to Defend Iran

Iran’s powerful Navy is fully prepared to defend the country, a senior commander underlined on Monday, and lauded Iran’s strong naval presence in the high seas.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s strategic Navy Force is now at its highest level of preparedness,” Commander of Iran’s Second Naval Zone Admiral Mohammad Reza Abbasian told reporters in Iran’s Southern port city of Bushehr.

Referring to the Navy’s anti-piracy missions in far seas, he stated, “The strong presence of the Navy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and their successful confrontation with pirates is just part of the achievements made by the Army’s naval force.”

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 through the Suez Canal.

Iran’s naval power has even been acknowledged by foes. In a Sep. 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy also said that in the two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the Islamic Republic has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.

According to the report, Iran’s Navy has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force and is effectively in control of the world’s oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz.

The study says that if Washington takes military action against the Islamic Republic, the scale of Iran’s response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets.