Iran plans to expand its maritime operational area in the new Iranian calendar year (which begins on March 21), Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari said on Saturday.
"The operational area of the Navy will expand in 1390, and (we) bring other areas under control with deploying the Navy's warships outside the Persian Gulf," Rear Admiral Sayyari stated.
He expressed hope that pirates will not be able to menace oil tankers and trade vessels, Mehr News reported.
The Iranian Navy has so far dispatched a number of military warships to the Gulf of Aden to guard Iranian and foreign vessels sailing in international waters.
Pirates operating off the coast of Somalia have expanded the reach of their hijacking attacks on merchant vessels and oil tankers in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden over the past 2 years, making tens of millions of dollars in ransom, despite the fact that dozens of foreign naval vessels are patrolling the area.