The US has deployed several fleets in the Persian Gulf. He said that the deployment of Iranian naval fleets in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea as well as the presence of its submarines in the Red Sea marked an honor for the Iranian nation and other Muslim countries. He said that Iran’s Navy planned to have a strong presence in international waters. This comes as Iran plans to dispatch its 16th fleet of warships to the Gulf of Aden as part of efforts to provide security for Iranian vessels and oil tankers in the piracy-infested area. In line with international efforts against piracy, the Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 in order to safeguard merchant containers and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran or other countries.
The Gulf of Aden, which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea, is a strategic energy corridor, particularly because the Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the Suez Canal. Despite international patrols, Somali pirates have hijacked dozens of ships in recent years and have taken in tens of millions of dollars in ransoms.
[mappress] Source: presstv, September 28, 2011