Navy Thwarts Pirate Attack on Iranian Oil Tanker

(FNA)- An attempt by pirates to hijack an Iranian oil tanker in international waters was foiled by the timely action of the Iranian warships present in the region.The Navy's 32nd fleet of warships saved the Iranian tanker from the attack of 8 pirate boats in Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea near the Iranian Navy's wargames zone.

The 32nd flotilla, consisting of Jamaran and Bushehr destroyers, is part of the Iranian Naval units participating in the Mohammad Rasoulallah (PBUH) wargames.

Different units of the Iranian Army started massive military drills in the Southern and Southeastern parts of the country on Thursday.

The six-day military exercises cover an area of 2.2 million square kilometers from the East of the Strait of Hormuz to the Southern parts of the Gulf of Aden.

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.