AFP - Iran’s navy chief, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari, said on Monday that Iran’s dispatch of two warships to the Mediterranean last week was not aggressive in aim.
"The Iranian strategy is to reinforce its defensive capacities. We do not harbour aggressive intentions against other countries," Sayari said at a press conference in Damascus.
The two Iranian warships, the first to enter the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal since 1979, docked on February 24 at the Syrian port of Latakia.
"The visit aims to strengthen old ties between Iran and Syria and to enhance maritime cooperation," the navy chief said, adding the visit had been scheduled before popular uprisings began breaking out across the Arab world.
"The changes underway in the region do not have an impact on Iran because the Iranian revolution has deep, popular roots," Sayari said.
"Certain countries are concerned and believe the visit is directed against them. That’s their problem," he said.
Israeli leaders have denounced the naval mission, which saw the Iranian warships sailing past the coast of the Jewish state coast to reach Syria, as a "provocation" and a "powerplay."
Israel’s navy raised its alert level in response to the warships passage while Washington called for the respect of international law.
When asked if the vessels carried missiles for Hezbollah, the Shiite Lebanese movement backed by Tehran and Damascus, the admiral replied: "It’s a visit within the framework of international law."
Sayari also said that the two ships, on their way to Syria, had come to the aid of a Hong Kong boat that had fallen to pirates and rescued the crew.
The warships form part of Iran’s 12th flotilla, which is normally assigned to protect Iranian merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden, an area plagued by Somali pirates.
Iran’s official Fars news agency, quoting top naval commanders, said the ships are the 33,000-tonne refuelling and support vessel Kharg and the 1,500-tonne light patrol frigate Alvand.
The Kharg has a crew of 250 and can carry up to three helicopters. The Alvand is armed with torpedos and anti-ship missiles.
Both ships were built in Britain during the 1970s for Iran, which ordered them before the Islamic revolution.