Zionist Israel jolted by Iran Islamic Republic naval might

Iran’s Navy says its presence in the high seas despite the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic by the West has jolted the enemies of the country, particularly Zionist Israel.

“As a powerful country, we have the right and can be present in the high seas,” Fars News Agency quoted Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari as saying on Wednesday.

“This [presence] began in late 2008 and today the 14th Army-dispatched naval group is present in international waters,” he added.

The official pointed to the country’s 12th naval group being dispatched to the Red Sea and the Mediterranean and said, “This naval group succeeded, for the first time, in passing through the Bab-el-Mandeb [in] the Red Sea and Suez Canal and entering the Mediterranean Sea,” he said.

The Iranian commander added that this feat jolted the country’s enemies “particularly the Zionist regime [of Israel], which did not believe that we could achieve this great achievement,” considering the sanctions imposed against the country.

The United States and its allies accuse Iran of developing a military nuclear program, and used this pretext to pressure the UN to impose a fourth round of sanctions against Iran’s financial and military sectors in June 2010.

Iranian officials have repeatedly refuted the allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Tehran has a right to use peaceful nuclear technology.

Sayyari also said the Iranian submarine Yunes, which on its maiden mission accompanied the 14th naval group, has just arrived in the Omani capital of Muscat.

He said the submarine has nearly finished its trip and is due back soon.

The official stressed that the presence of Iran’s Navy in international waters sends a message of peace and friendship.