Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said on Monday that Iran seeks cooperation with regional countries bring security to the region, saying that Iran’s continuous presence in the regional waters is to protect the country and the Iranian nation in the sea.

“To date, more than 2,400 ships have been escorted by the [Iranian] Navy and we have deployed about 52 fleet to the area; we have faced piracy many times,” Khanzadi added.

The Iranian Army Navy commander pointed to two rescue operations carried out by forces under his command saying "we conducted a major naval operation dubbed Thunder 1, near the waters of Somalia and another operation Thunder 2 in the northern part of Indian Ocean during which two Chinese and Panamanian ships heading carrying cargos towards Iran were rescued."

He said that Iran seeks a vigorous presence in the regional waters in line with the guidelines of Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Khamenei to secure its own waters.

Rear Admiral Khanzadi added that Iran believes the security of regional waters should not be handed over to powers beyond the region as their presence only destabilizes it.

Referring to the importance of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, he added that Bab-el-Mandeb is an important shipping route for Iran and its security is a matter of concern for Iran.

The Iranian commander concluded that if the security of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait is in the hands of the coastal countries, Iran will support them, emphasizing as far as it is necessary Iran will be present in the important shipping route with the aim of collective security.

KI/4289660