Iran sends 64 naval fleets to Gulf of Aden as part of overseas missions: Navy cmdr.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi says the country has so far dispatched 64 naval fleets to the Gulf of Aden, as part of overseas missions aimed at securing the country’s interests in high seas.

“We have so far dispatched 64 naval fleets to the Gulf of Aden region, and a considerable number of our naval forces have participated in various missions,” the senior commander said on Wednesday.  

A large part of Iran’s maritime shipping lanes is in international waters extending toward the west of the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, the security of which is of high significance, he added.

Pointing to insecure conditions of the Red Sea that threaten the routes used by Iranian vessels, the commander said apart from the cases where Iran deployed a flotilla there, the Navy kept a steady and continued presence in an area stretching from the Red Sea to the Suez Canal, dispatching its last two fleets — the 63th and the 64th — to the region to protect its maritime interests.

In recent years, Iran’s Navy has increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers.

In line with international efforts against piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting patrols in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, safeguarding merchant containers and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran or other countries.

Iran’s Navy has managed to foil several attacks on both Iranian and foreign tankers during its missions in international waters.

Back in March, Iran’s naval forces successfully thwarted a pirate attack on an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

Pirates in 11 speedboats attacked the oil tanker with a cargo of more than 150,000 tonnes in Bab el-Mandeb Strait. However, commandos of the Navy’s 60th flotilla of warships managed to repel the attack.