“Iran's Navy is now in a position that can, all by itself, have an active presence to establish security at sea and safeguard the country's economic interests without a need for help from other countries,” Sayyari told IRNA on Friday.
On May 24, Iranian naval forces rescued a US commercial ship which came under attack by several pirate boats near the Sea of Oman.
On April 6, Iran’s Navy recovered a Chinese cargo vessel, called Xianghuamen, with 28 crew members aboard, seized by Somali pirates in international waters off the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Jask and detained the hijackers.
In line with the international efforts against piracy, Iran's Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard maritime trade and particularly the ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.
The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is the quickest route for more than 20,000 vessels traveling annually between Asia, Europe and the Americas.
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