Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has hailed Saudi Arabia's cooperation with the 18th fleet of Iran's Navy ships, Press TV reported.
The 18th fleet of Iran's Navy, comprised of Khark supplier and Shahid Naqdi destroyers, docked in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Friday, February 3.
Mehmanparast expressed Iran's appreciation of Saudi Arabia's constructive cooperation with the Islamic Republic's fleet.
Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on Friday that the fleet's mission was in line with Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei's order to increase the country's presence in international waters.
Iran's navy has been increasingly present in international waters since last year, deploying vessels in the Indian Ocean and sending two ships to the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in February 2011 via the Suez Canal.
The country's Navy has been also conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008 to safeguard maritime trade and in particular ships and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran.