Iran plans to launch a semi-heavy submarine soon in a bid to
boost its naval capabilities in the high seas, Iranian Defense Minister
Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan announced on Wednesday.
Fars News Agency
Thursday, November 28, 2013
“The Defense Ministry will take another step in developing the
operational capabilities of this strategic force (Navy) after this
advanced submarine (Fateh) joins the Navy fleet in future,” General
Dehqan said.
He stressed that as before the Defense Ministry is ready to help the
Iranian Navy reach an international balance with regard to its presence
in territorial and free waters.
General Dehqan reiterated that the Iranian Navy has shown that it is
one of the main security elements and contributors in the Persian Gulf
and the Sea of Oman.
He pointed to the defense ministry’s backup for Iran’s naval forces,
and said, “Design and manufacture of different surface, subsurface,
light, semi-heavy and heavy vessels like Zolfaqar missile-launching
frigate, the advanced Jamaran II destroyer, Al-Sabehat, Qaem, Midget,
Qadir and Huvana submarines in different classes, flying boats in
different classes and floating pools in different tonnage are part of
the Defense Ministry’s backup.”
In September, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari
announced that Fateh will be launched this (Iranian) year (ending on
March 20, 2014).
“Based on the Navy’s plans, the Fateh submarine will be launched this year," Sayyari told reporters in Tehran in September.
He said that Fateh submarine, Kaman-class missile-launcher warships
and Jamaran 2 destroyer will come into operation in the current year.
The Iranian Navy dispatched its 27th flotilla of warships to the high
seas in August to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers
against pirates.
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.
According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can
send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia
against the pirates and even with prior notice to Somali government
enter the territorial waters of that country in pursuit of Somali sea
pirates.
The Gulf of Aden - which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal
and the Mediterranean Sea - is an important energy corridor,
particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the
Suez Canal.