TEHRAN - The Iranian Navy plans to establish a permanent station in Antarctica to carry out military and scientific operations, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani has said.

In a televised interview on Thursday, Irani noted, “Our future plan is to proudly hoist the Iranian flag in Antarctica, and undertake collaborative military and scientific efforts in that region.”

“It is not just military work. There has to be scientific work and our dear scientists are preparing to implement a joint effort in line with the guidelines of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei,” the top naval officer added.

According to the commander, such ambitious future plan demonstrates the Iranian Navy’s immense potential.

“Last year, in compliance with the guidelines of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, we tried to establish a strong maritime presence across the globe. This came even with various challenges along the way, the most notable of which was that we had no experience of such a task at all,” Irani said.

The Navy commander continued by highlighting the ongoing efforts made by some foreign nations to obstruct Iran’s presence in open seas, asserting that “within the Navy, we overcame these obstacles and fears, and could accomplish the tremendous honor of deploying the 86th flotilla of warships in international waters despite foreign conspiracies.”

Despite multiple attempts by foreign nations to block the naval operation, the admiral said, the Navy personnel were able to successfully defuse all hostile schemes by employing domestic military equipment and exerting tremendous efforts.

The 86th Iranian naval fleet, which set sail from the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on September 20, 2022, came home on May 20, 2023, after circumnavigating the globe. It broke the record for the longest distance traveled by an Iranian flotilla in international seas.

High-ranking Iranian authorities and commanders welcomed the flotilla’s return, including Ayatollah Khamenei, who commended the “courageous forces of the 86th flotilla of warships of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army on their great and successful voyage.”