[Dr. Aaron Lerner - IMRA: The Iranian decision to send boats through the
Suez Canal predates the revolution in Egypt.]

Iran to Send Fleet of Warships to Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea
News number: 8911031140 16:03 | 2011-01-23
http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8911031140

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Navy plans to send a fleet of warships, including
a home-made destroyer, to the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea in the near
future.

"During the mission, the fleet of warships will enter the waters of the Red
Sea and then will be dispatched to the Mediterranean Sea," The Iranian Navy
Lieutenant Commander Rear Admiral Gholam-Reza Khadem Biqam told FNA on
Sunday.

Elaborating on the important features of the mission, Khadem explained that
the fleet would pass through the Suez Canal and would move on a very good
route.

He said the mission would last for one year.

He also underlined that the fleet would gain good intelligence and
information of the regions it is due to visit during the mission.

The Iranian Navy has started extraterritorial missions mainly in 2008. The
Navy has lately dispatched its 10th flotilla of warships to the Gulf of Aden
to defend the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against the continued
threat of attack by Somali pirates.

The intelligence-operational fleet of warships, which consisted of Khark
warship and Alvand destroyer, were dispatched to the Gulf of Aden on
September 1 to fight Somali buccaneers and guard Iranian cargo ships in the
volatile region.

Iran's measure to dispatch the 10th fleet of warships to the Gulf of Aden
will boost Navy's operational range in international waters since the
Iranian Navy is considered as a strategic regional force with a long
operational range.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari in September stressed
Iran's continued naval deployment in the high seas, and said that he Iranian
Navy's presence in the high seas and international waters is part of
Tehran's strategy for defending its interests abroad.

The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in high seas,
including the Gulf of Aden, since November 2008, when Somali raiders
hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of
Yemen.

Also, Sayyari announced in late 2010 that Iran plans to deploy its first
home-made destroyer, 'Jamaran', in the high seas and international waters as
part of the country's strategy to defend national interests abroad.

"Jamaran destroyer will be deployed in an area 10 degrees north of
international waters in the near future," Sayyari told FNA in October.