US advised to escort ships in Gulf of Aden

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, May 4, IRNA -- Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari on Monday called on the US Navy officials to escort their ships in the Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb.

Talking to reporters, Sayyari stressed that security prevails over the Persian Gulf, but the Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandab lack enough security; therefore, the Americans should escort their ships in that region.

'Security has been established in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman thanks to the permanent deployment of the Iranian Navy and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC); therefore, there is no need for the Americans to escort their ships in this region,' he added.

Sayyari reiterated that the case of the Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship recently impounded in the Persian Gulf is purely legal.

Sayyari was reacting to a decision by the US Navy to accompany US and British-flagged commercial ships as they travel through the Strait of Hormuz into and out of the Persian Gulf.

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 the Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the Suez Canal.

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