Tehran, Iran, Apr. 29
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iranian Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari said Western reports of an Iranian naval fleet's presence in waters around Yemen are meant only to pressure the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian Navy has been sending ships to the Gulf of Aden since the year 2007, but foreign media have brought up the issue just recently in order to use it as a tool against Iran, he said, Fars news agency reported April 29.
He added that Iran was the first country to announce readiness to help secure the area when pirates destabilized the seas back in that year.
The commander said that while about 20 to 30 fleets from different countries patrol the area every day, Iran's naval presence there should not be viewed with so much sensitivity.
Iran has obeyed international rules and has never entered any country's territorial waters, the official stated.
He said that the sensitivity toward Iran's presence in the Gulf is expressed by countries that act under the NATO alliance, while Iran - along with China and Russia - is there on its own.
Western and Arab press accusing Iran of helping Yemen's Houthi movement have also claimed that Iran's presence in the Gulf of Aden is to arm the group. Tehran, however, dismisses the claims.
Yemen is under difficult circumstances as Saudi fighters keep pounding the country. The attacks came when the Shia group gained control of the country after ex-president Mansour Hadi's flight.
Edited by CN
Mehdi Sepahvand is Trend Agency's journalist in Iran, follow him on Twitter: @mehdisepahvand