The Iranian Navy has deployed two warships to join international efforts to preserve shipping security in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden. According to IRIB, Iran’s Deputy Naval Commander, Gholam-Reza Khadem, said Monday that the dispatched warships are set to replace aging vessels and protect Iranian merchant containers and oil tankers from Somali pirates in the volatile Gulf of Aden. The dispatch comes only a week after the Iranian navy saved one if its giant oil tankers from the grips of Somali pirates.

Khadem said “Pirates have stepped up attacks on Iranian merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, so we have decided to send two more warships to patrol the area and help keep everything under control.”
Khadem said Iran’s decision to join the international fight against piracy in the key shipping-lanes off the coast of Somalia has been “rather positive”.