Iran to conduct naval patrols in the Red Sea

Shafaq News / Iran’ chief of staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri announced on Wednesday, that his country intends to conduct naval patrols in the Red Sea to protect the Iranian ships.

Bagheri said, in a press statement reported by Iranian media, that Iranian commercial ships have recently been subjected to some attacks, therefore the Red Sea will be among the Iranian naval patrol areas which will ensure full security of the oil and commercial ships in the sea.

On Tuesday, Iran displayed the largest military ship in its history, the Makran helicopter carrier.

The Iranian Navy received the country’s largest-ever military vessel in the southern waters. The vessel “Markan” is a domestically-manufactured helicopter carrier that can be used for logistical purposes in support of the naval forces' maritime missions.

The Red Sea is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes leading up to the Suez Canal, with thousands of transits made annually through the Bab al-Mandab waterway at its southern tip.

There are wider tensions after the seizure by Iran last week of a South Korean tanker further away in the Strait of Hormuz.