by: Robert Tilford
Sunday, July 29, 2012
FAS news is reporting that the Commander of the IRGC Special Naval Force Unit General Mohammad Nazzeri, the point man in charge of Iran’s fight against pirates, has recently accused certain Gulf member nations of supporting pirates in Somalia!
The commanders comments came out during a press interview regarding Iranian anti piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden.
"The pirates of the Gulf of Aden are simple fishers”, he explained. “But their sponsors and main leaders are Sheikhs of the UAE, Yemen and Saudi Arabia," the commander said.
"They provide the Somalis with money, weapons and equipments so that they hijack ships," Nazzeri explained, and added that these Sheikhs leave no trace behind in their financial and arms aids to the Somali pirates.
General Mohammad Nazzeri said that “aliens from across the globe are siphoning out Somalia's wealth and are exploiting the sea reserves of that country, adding that this has caused poverty in Somalia and made the region more dangerous.”
Before ending the news conference the General Nazzeri affirmed that Iran will continue to fight pirates and terrorist gangs in Somalia.
“In Shallah (God willing) we shall defeat the pirates”, he said.
Iran today has emerged as a world leader in anti piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, where they are both feared and respected by Somali pirates and warlords for their daring and sometimes “heroic” efforts by their elite marine commando unit to prevent attacks , rescue hostages and save lives.
To date Iran anti piracy efforts have save hundreds of lives and prevent more than two dozen attacks so far.
In one instance the Iranian navy saved the crew of the U.S. flagged cargo vessel Maersk Texas from a pirate attack (see article: Iran saves US flagged cargo ship from pirate attack - Pentagon has no comment! http://www.examiner.com/article/iran-saves-us-flagged-cargo-ship-from-pirate-attack-pentagon-has-no-comment ).
Iranian navy sailors and soldiers risk their lives fighting pirates in the Gulf of Aden every day (see also article: Iranian navy repel pirate attack help protect energy corridor vital to the west http://www.examiner.com/article/iranian-navy-repel-pirate-attack-help-protect-energy-corridor-vital-to-the-west
The Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.
It should be noted that the Iranians receive no formal recognition or cooperation from the United States in its effort to combat terrorism and prevent acts of piracy in the Gulf.