Iranian Navy Says Crossing Atlantic Ocean on Agenda

The chief commander of Iran’s Navy has said that crossing the Atlantic Ocean is on the agenda of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy, the Iranian media reported. “Until 10 years ago, Iran’s Navy was deployed only in Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz but today has increased its mission to orbit 10 degrees following the notification of Supreme Commander-in-Chief,” Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said. Pointing to the issue that Iran’s Navy will present in Turkmenbashi port, Turkmenistan in near future, he added: “We are also responsible the security and the control of 20 percent of Caspian sea’s water”. Sayyari described Iranian Navy’s crossing of Suez Canal and the Mediterranean for the first time in recent years as a great achievement for his country. “Iran Navy ‘44 strike group’ by arriving in the south of Africa, presented in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time and without doubt crossing the Atlantic Ocean is on the agenda of Islamic Republic of Iran Navy,” he said.

Comment: The Islamic Republic has in recent years made it a priority to develop its naval capabilities, although its leaders often exaggerate the country’s progress in building advanced naval assets and expanding its naval forces’ presence in international waters.

Last month, Sayyari announced that the Navy planned to renew the presence of its forces in the Atlantic Ocean in the current Iranian year, which began on March 21. He outlined the plan in a meeting with officers of the Navy Central Command on Wednesday. The top Iranian naval official also unveiled plans to further develop Karan coasts in the southeast of Iran and ensure Iran’s intelligence superiority in regional and international waters. The commander added that the Navy will produce new military vessels this year.And in March, Sayyari revealed that the Iranian naval forces were making efforts to expand its presence and boost security in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, and the Bab al-Mandeb.

Furthermore, Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan recently reiterated that his country should begin using nuclear technology  “in the field of naval propulsion systems” in order to enhance the Iranian Navy’s “maneuvering power and capability.” And last year, the Iranian chief of staff of the armed forces, Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, called for setting up naval bases in Yemen and Syria – triggering alarm among Sunni Gulf states.

Iran’s regularly Navy is separate from the naval forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.). According to U.S. officials, it is the I.R.G.C. Navy that usually engages in “unprofessional” and “irresponsible” actions in the Gulf region and repeatedly harasses U.S. warships stationed there.