Commander Underscores Iranian Navy’s Major Role to Ensure Caspian Sea Security
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Navy commander praised his forces for their leading role in ensuring security in the country’s northern waters, stressing that much of the Caspian Sea’s peace and order is credited to the Iranian naval forces.
Speaking in a ceremony to mark the Army week on Wednesday, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari underlined that the Iranian naval forces play a significant role in ensuring security in the Caspian Sea.
The onus is on the Navy to preserve security across the Caspian Sea, the commander said in the ceremony, held in the northern port city of Anzali.
He also emphasized that the strategic water zone, located north of Iran, belongs to the Caspian Sea littoral states, stressing that "aliens should not be allowed to be present in the area illegitimately."
Iranian military officials have repeatedly announced that strong naval presence in the Caspian Sea (the world's largest lake and a resource-rich body of water) is as a way to safeguard national interests and marine resource there.
The maritime and seabed boundaries of the Caspian Sea have yet to be demarcated among the five countries bordering the sea (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran).
Despite extensive negotiations, the legal status of the Caspian Sea has been unclear since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991. Currently, the Caspian Sea's legal regime is based on two agreements signed between Iran and the Soviet Union in 1921 and 1940.
Its final legal status needs to be determined by unanimous agreement among all the littoral states.
