Free Republic

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, commander of the Navy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said that his country plans to deploy a naval presence in the Atlantic Ocean sometime this year. The Atlantic Ocean borders both North America and western Europe. Sayyari did not specify how close to the United States his ships would sail, though he said his navy would act "in accordance with international laws and regulations." So reports MNA, an Iranian news agency. Speaking with reporters on Saturday, Sayyari emphasized the self-sufficiency of the Iranian Navy: "All equipment and facilities of the Navy are now home-produced, and...

Once upon a time, I would have dismissed this report as the ravings of a fascist government. Now, unfortunately, this type of report has become totally believable. According to Iranian television, a US Naval destroyer fled the area of the Sea of Oman where Iran was conducting a naval drill after being 'warned' to leave. Let's go to the videotape. The 'highlight' is from the 2:00 mark to the end.

Iran's Navy has the ability to deploy its vessels three miles off the US east coast, a high-ranking Iranian Navy commander was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency. "Our naval forces are so powerful that we have a presence in all the waters of the world and, if needed, we can move to within three miles of New York," Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi was quoted as saying during a speech to students at the University of Yazd earlier this week. The admiral was speaking on the anniversary the failed 1980 US attempt to rescue...

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran raised the prospect on Tuesday of sending military ships close to the United States' Atlantic coast, in what would be a major escalation of tensions between the long-standing adversaries. "Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to American marine borders," the head of the Navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said, according to the official IRNA news agency. /snip

An Iranian naval commander says the Navy will be adding a second domestically manufactured destroyer to its fleet some time in the next two years. Commodore Amir Rastegari, who heads the Navy's industrial command, made the announcement hours after Iran launched its first locally-made 1,420 ton Jamaran destroyer, equipped with a variety of anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles. "Work continues on a new destroyer. In the next two years, a second Iranian manufactured vessel will be delivered to the Navy," he said. Rastegari added that the Jamaran destroyer was completed in spite of Western efforts to hinder its manufacturing process. "The...