Global Courant 2023-05-21 17:39:58
Iran has said it is fully capable of securing regional waters in coordination with other regional actors following a move by Western allies in the strategic Strait of Hormuz that Tehran called “theatrical”.
The comment came on Sunday as Iranian officials held a ceremony near the country’s southern waters to welcome two Iranian warships after an eight-month round-the-world voyage.
Two days earlier, the Middle East-based naval commanders of France, the United Kingdom and the United States toured the Strait of Hormuz on the USS Paul Hamilton to demonstrate their unity against Iran and to signal their oversight of the safety of ships traversing the waterway. , through which one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies pass.
Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, said Western countries should explain what they are doing in the Strait of Hormuz, thousands of miles from their territorial waters.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran and the countries south of the Persian Gulf are able to work together to ensure the security of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman,” Bagheri said at a news conference. issued during a trip to Oman earlier this month.
“We have no need for foreigners to ensure the safety of regional waters, which are currently being secured by our navy men from the army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” he said.
Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, who oversees the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, said during the trip around Hormuz that Iran has seized eight ships and attacked seven ships in the past two years. IRGC fast boats reportedly watched the Paul Hamilton from less than 1 km (0.5 nautical miles) away.
Iran seized two oil tankers in regional waters last month. One was stopped in accordance with a court order, while another “fleeed” the region after hitting an Iranian ship as it diverted to an Iranian port.
The US has called the seizures “illegitimate” as tensions between the two countries have remained high amid stalled efforts to restore Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
‘360 tour’
Iranian commanders and the spokesman for the foreign ministry were present on Sunday to congratulate the two Iranian warships on their return after a long tour that took them through many countries.
The frigate IRIS Dena, which carries anti-ship missiles and torpedoes, and IRIS Makran, a former oil tanker before being converted into Iran’s first and only forward base ship, began their journey from Iran’s southern coast in early October.
They docked in India for three days from October 12 and were detained by Indonesian officials at a port in Jakarta for several days from November 5.
After sailing the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, passing Chile and Argentina, they set sail for Rio de Janeiro in a non-stop sail that took them to the South American shores for the first time. The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva allowed the Iranian warships to dock for a week in late February, despite pressure from the US to ban them.
At the end of March, the ships spent five days in Cape Town for meetings with South African colleagues. They then set sail for Oman, where they spent a few days earlier this month.
The warships completed what the military called a 232-day “360 round trip” earlier this week, returning to the Iranian coast after completing the longest sea voyage in the Iranian military’s history, covering some 65,000 km (35,100 miles). nautical miles).
Motion pictures | 86th Naval Fleet #Iran‘s Artesh Navy
The Iranian Navy’s 86th Naval Fleet consisted of #Dena frigate and #Makran forward base ship, after sailing more than 40,000 miles in more than 230 days, came home on May 20, 2023.
More: pic.twitter.com/p2KvUN1Xu5
— IMA Media • ایما مدیا (@imamedia_org) May 21, 2023
In 2021, the Makran joined the frigate Sahand for a journey that took them through the Baltic Sea and ended in Saint Petersburg, where they took part in a joint military exercise with Russian warships.
Speaking at the welcome ceremony on Sunday, Chief of the Armed Forces Bagheri said more frigates like the IRIS Dena were under construction.
State Department spokesman Nasser Kanani told state television that the completion of the trip is an indication that Tehran is successfully defying and circumventing tough sanctions imposed by Washington.
“At the height of the brutal sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran has turned into a prominent naval power and is capable of conducting large-scale naval operations at the level of first-class powers,” he said.
Earlier this week, IRGC naval chief Alireza Tangsiri had claimed that the force’s ships could “travel up to 12 miles (19 km) from the US coast”.
