Iranian army navies intervened late Tuesday to repel an “attack” on an Iranian ship in the Red Sea, a military spokesman said Wednesday.
Rear Admiral Mustafa Taj al-Dini, Deputy Commander of Naval Operations, told state television that “a naval escort team under the command of the destroyer Jamaran (…) immediately arrived on the scene last night after receiving a distress call from an Iranian ship in Red Sea and collided with attacking boats.
He continued: “With the active presence of the escort group and heavy skirmishes (between the two sides), the attacking boats fled.”
Taj al-Dini did not provide further details about the target ship or the parties suspected of being involved in the attack.
In November 2021, the Iranian Navy announced that it had thwarted an attempted pirate seizure of an oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden. This comes about two weeks after the company announced it had also responded to a piracy attempt targeting two other tankers in the Gulf of Aden.
Like other countries that depend on shipping through the Suez Canal and the Red Sea, the Islamic Republic has stepped up its naval presence in the region stretching to the Gulf of Aden amid a series of pirate attacks it has witnessed. between 2000 and 2011.
The Iranian Navy has been conducting monitoring patrols in the area since 2008 to protect oil tankers and cargo ships or other countries.
Somali pirates are often behind these attempts. According to the British Maritime Security Organization (UKMTO), the rate of piracy attempts has decreased in recent years in light of measures taken by a number of countries to ensure the safety of shipping.
Source: AFP.