TEHRAN— The commander of the Iranian navy announced the beginning of the mission of the 86th navy fleet’s voyage around the open seas with a message of peace and friendship for all the nations across the world.

Speaking on state TV on Friday, Admiral Shahram Irani spoke about the actions taken by the Iranian naval force in the field of international maritime.

“Since 2007, following the theft of an Iranian vessel by pirates, the Iranian navy took steps to establish security for ship navigation upon order of the commander-in-chief,” the admiral said.

According to the admiral, naval forces have escorted about 5,000 domestic vessels so far.

Emphasizing that Iran's armed forces help any vessel that requests help in the oceans, he said the actions taken by the forces under his command have caused international organizations to praise the navy on a number of occasions.

“Today, we have gifted maritime security both to the region and to the world, and the world should know that Iranians always have a positive effect wherever they are,” Admiral Irani stated. 
The best news for the Iranian nation is the navy’s authority in the open seas, he added.

Announcing the beginning of a special sea voyage by Iran’s navy, the commander also noted that the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran is being flown in seas all around the world.

The details of this sea voyage will be released to the people soon, he added.

“The 86th naval fleet of the army started its journey on Wednesday, and it is going to travel around the globe in order to show the authority of the dear people of Iran to the whole world,” he pointed out. 

Admiral Irani noted that the message of the 86th naval fleet is “peace and friendship for all the nations of the world,” emphasizing, “If the people support the armed forces, which are always standing by the people, the result will be the authority of the people.”

He went on to announce the simultaneous presence of three army fleets in the seas, adding that the point of this voyage is that all three destroyers are homegrown and purely Iranian (Jamaran destroyer with its combat support ship in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, Sahand destroyer and Dena destroyer).

Referring to the constant updates in the force, the navy chief noted that the Jamaran destroyer is very different from the Jamaran destroyer of 2008, as the navy is constantly updating itself in the field of renovation.