Iran to Deploy Naval Forces to Panama Canal: Commander
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said plans are underway to dispatch naval forces to the Panama Canal as Iranian servicemen are approaching the coasts of the Americas.
Addressing a conference on maritime civilization, held in Tehran on Wednesday, Rear Admiral Irani said the Iranian naval forces have been deployed to all of the strategic straits across the world so far, except two.
He said the Iranian Navy forces will sail into one of those two remaining straits this year while plans are being made for the presence of the Iranian forces in the Panama Canal.
The Iranian Navy units are getting closer to the coasts of the Americas, he added.
Pointing to the Iranian naval forces’ success in sailing across the Pacific Ocean, the commander said Australia and France posed threats to Iran in that mission and tried to break the regulations that they themselves had introduced on sailing past their coasts, but Iran responded to them mightily in accordance with the law.
The admiral also stated that the Iranian Navy has set up three ocean commands supervising naval missions to the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean.
The equipment that would come into service has been designed in proportion to the missions of the three commands, he concluded.
In a meeting with a number of commanders and officials of Iran’s Navy in November 2022, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei stressed the need for the Navy to bolster and maintain its presence in international waters.
The Leader also emphasized the need for the Navy to boost its combat capabilities and defense equipment and to continue navigation in remote and international waters.