Special to WorldTribune.com

NICOSIA — The Iran Navy has launched its first major operation in the Atlantic Ocean.

[FLASHBACK: Iran Navy to extend its presence to the Atlantic Ocean in 2013]

Officials said the navy has sent its first fleet of combat vessels to the Atlantic. On Jan. 21, a navy flotilla embarked on a journey of 25,000 nautical kilometers expected to take three months.

“Iran wants to demonstrate its defensive capabilities by sending warships to international waters,” navy deputy commander Rear Adm. Mahmoud Moussavi said.

Officials said the flotilla to the Atlantic consisted of the Khark assault vessel and the Sabalan destroyer and would arrive in February. They said previous missions included the Mediterranean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

“Previous warship flotillas were sent to the Mediterranean Sea and passed through the Suez Channel and even sailed through the Pacific Ocean and the China Sea,” Adm. Afshin Rezayee, commander of the navy’s Fourth Zone, said in December 2013. “Now we intend to enter the Atlantic Ocean and this will be materialized after dispatch of the next flotillas of warships.”

Officials said the Teheran regime has invested heavily in expanding
naval operations beyond the Gulf. They said Iran sought to build a navy
capable of missions throughout the globe.

  Iran sends first warship flotilla to Atlantic Ocean, Iran sends first warship flotilla to the Atlantic Ocean, Khark, Rear Adm. Mahmoud Moussavi, Sabalan