TEHRAN – Chief of the Iranian Navy says presence of naval forces of the United States and other foreigners cannot harm Iran’s maritime security.

Speaking in a meeting with military attaches of different countries in Tehran on Sunday, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said Iran’s waters are safe thanks to its naval forces.

“The military presence of the global arrogance led by the U.S., Britain, and the Israeli regime will not undermine Iran’s security,” he said, Mehr reported.

Referring to the U.S.-led maritime coalition in the Persian Gulf, Khanzadi said it is time for foreign powers to withdraw their military forces from the region.

The Navy chief further said that the awakened nations will not agree to join the global arrogance’s coalitions.

Khanzadi said Iran has dispatched as many as 64 fleets over the past 10 years to the Indian Ocean, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden as well as all other international waters to secure Iran’s maritime trade and fight against piracy.

He pointed to the achievements in the field of building various kinds of naval equipment such as destroyers and submarines, including Jamaran, Damavand, Sahand, Ghadir, Fateh, torpedoes, UAVs, saying the Iranian naval forces have been able to have a constant presence in international waters. 

Khanzadi also described the Iranian Navy as a “strategic force”.

He underlined that Iran’s security in the sea is not dependent on the outside world, unlike many other countries, saying that all of the Navy’s capabilities are indigenous.

Over the weekend, the Iranian Navy unveiled four homegrown military equipment, with the aim of boosting the force’s defense power.

In a ceremony on Saturday attended by Khanzadi, the Navy officially unveiled the unmanned aerial vehicle “Pelikan 2” and the naval mine “Sadaf 2”.

The navigation system “Soren” and the precision guided bomb “Balaban” were also unveiled during the ceremony.

MH/PA