Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — The Iranian Navy plans to deploy warships in the Atlantic
Ocean, having entered the Pacific Ocean for the first time since 1979 in late February.

The Iranian Navy said deployment in the Atlantic would begin in 2013.
Officials said this would mark the first Iranian missions in the Atlantic.

The Navy announced last month that its 24th fleet, including a destroyer and the Khark helicopter carrier, had entered the Pacific Ocean for the first time since 1979 on Feb. 26.

“Iranian Navy’s presence in the Pacific Ocean and in particular in the
South China Sea this year was a very important step forward for the Islamic republic’s Navy, which aims to be present in the international waters,” Iranian Navy commander Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayari said.

On March 15, Sayari the Navy would expand operations beyond the Pacific Ocean. He said the Navy would also conduct a search-and-rescue exercise with Oman in 2013.

This could mark the second naval exercise between Iran and Oman in 2013. In January, Muscat and Teheran held naval and aircraft maneuvers near the coast of Iran.

Iran also said its Navy deployed an indigenous destroyer in the Caspian
Sea. On March 17, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated the Jamaran-2
guided-missile destroyer, the first major naval presence by the Islamic
republic.

The Caspian has been shared by five countries, with Iran granted a 12
percent stake. Teheran has disputes with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia and
Turkmenistan regarding the development of energy resources in the sea.

  Caspian Sea, Iran Navy to extend its presence to the Atlantic ocean in 2013, Jamaran-2 guided-missile destroyer, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayari