Iranian Navy Commander Says Tehran Plans to Send Ships to Atlantic

Iran plans to send ships to western Atlantic Ocean in the near future, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said.

According to Tasnim news agency, the move is aimed to highlight the Iranian navy's "powerful presence in international waters."

The Iranian military also refuted mainstream media reports portraying the Islamic republic's Naval Forces as "weak."

“[In a program aired] on CNN,… they (Americans) […] said Iran by no means is capable of entering the ocean and passing through it, but we arrived in the Atlantic, and we will go to the west of the ocean in the near future,” Tasnim quoted the Rear Admiral Sayyari by saying.

In recent years, the Iranian fleet increased its presence in international waters to secure naval routes and protect ships and oil tankers from pirates.

Last November, Sayyari spoke about Iran's plans to send ships to the Atlantic Ocean for the first time; the 44 flotilla of the Iranian Naval Forces entered the Atlantic Ocean after visiting one of the ports in South Africa.

Coincidence or not, the statement came after a number of incidents involving the US navy and Iranian ships in the Arabian Gulf.