Navy commander calls Iran, Pakistan ‘Key Regional Players’

Tasnim – Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari highlighted the influence of the Islamic Republic and neighboring Pakistan on regional developments and said the two countries are known as “key players” in the Middle East.

Both Iran and Pakistan are located in the energy zone of the world and this increases their “geopolitical weight”, Rear Admiral Sayyari said in a meeting with a delegation from the Pakistan Navy War College on Wednesday.

“Also the fact that much of the world’s oil exports are transported in the northern Indian Ocean increases the two countries’ (geopolitical) weight,” he stated.

The commander went on to say that Iran and Pakistan are “key players” in the region given their important geographical location.

He also announced that the Iranian Navy plans to hold joint drills with a naval fleet from the Pakistani army next month.

On September 27, 2016, an Iranian fleet of warships berthed at Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi to attend a joint naval relief and rescue drill with Pakistani naval forces.

Four vessels and a helicopter attended the drill on behalf of Iran, including Lavan logistic warship, Falakhan and Khanjar missile-launching vessels and Konarak warship.

Also in April 2016, two warships of the Pakistani Navy docked at Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas for four days.