TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari on Saturday reiterated Tehran's plan to deploy naval vessels near the maritime borders of the United States, and said Americans are not entitled to opposition as all nations have the right of voyage in international waters.
Speaking to FNA here in Tehran on Saturday, Admiral Sayyari said Iran is serious about deployment near the United States' maritime borders and this rigidness has worried the US officials.
"Americans are worried about themselves. The Iranian army is present in free waters and will continue its presence," he said.
He said international rules and regulations entitle all countries to the right to freely sail and be present in the high seas, and added, "I ask if the United States' maritime borders are not in free waters? If they are, then why should we not go there?"
"According to the rules and regulations, each country can specify a part as its coastal waters and other countries do not have the right to enter such waters. But the rest are considered as part of free waters."
"Why do they (Americans) show reaction to Iran's presence in free waters. Hasn't Iran had any voyage in international waters so far?"
The Iranian Navy Commander further cautioned the US and Pentagon officials to hold back their views in this regard, and said Iran's deployment and voyage in the high seas is not related to them.
"Americans do not have the right to express their views about the presence of the Iranian Army in free waters."
Sayyari had first announced in September that Iranian Navy plans to move vessels into the Atlantic Ocean to start a naval buildup "near maritime borders of the United States".
"Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to the American marine borders," Sayyari said last month, addressing a ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of the start of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq.
Sayyari gave no details of when such a deployment could happen or the number or type of vessels to be used.
On July 19 Sayyari also said that Iran was going to send "a flotilla into the Atlantic".
His remarks came after another high-ranking Iranian military official rejected a recent US request to establish a "red phone" link between the countries in the Persian Gulf.
"We would establish direct contact with the United States if we would ever go to the Gulf of Mexico," Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Ali Fadavi said earlier in September.
He rejected the US demand, and explained, "In the view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the presence of the US in the Persian Gulf is illegitimate and makes no sense."
The Iranian Navy has been developing its presence in international waters since last year, regularly launching vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates operating in the area.
Iran also sent two ships into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in February, via the Suez Canal, to the annoyance of Israel and the United States.
And in July, Sayyari announced that an Iranian submarine had completed an inaugural mission in the Southern Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
Speaking to FNA here in Tehran on Saturday, Admiral Sayyari said Iran is serious about deployment near the United States' maritime borders and this rigidness has worried the US officials.
"Americans are worried about themselves. The Iranian army is present in free waters and will continue its presence," he said.
He said international rules and regulations entitle all countries to the right to freely sail and be present in the high seas, and added, "I ask if the United States' maritime borders are not in free waters? If they are, then why should we not go there?"
"According to the rules and regulations, each country can specify a part as its coastal waters and other countries do not have the right to enter such waters. But the rest are considered as part of free waters."
"Why do they (Americans) show reaction to Iran's presence in free waters. Hasn't Iran had any voyage in international waters so far?"
The Iranian Navy Commander further cautioned the US and Pentagon officials to hold back their views in this regard, and said Iran's deployment and voyage in the high seas is not related to them.
"Americans do not have the right to express their views about the presence of the Iranian Army in free waters."
Sayyari had first announced in September that Iranian Navy plans to move vessels into the Atlantic Ocean to start a naval buildup "near maritime borders of the United States".
"Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to the American marine borders," Sayyari said last month, addressing a ceremony marking the 31st anniversary of the start of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq.
Sayyari gave no details of when such a deployment could happen or the number or type of vessels to be used.
On July 19 Sayyari also said that Iran was going to send "a flotilla into the Atlantic".
His remarks came after another high-ranking Iranian military official rejected a recent US request to establish a "red phone" link between the countries in the Persian Gulf.
"We would establish direct contact with the United States if we would ever go to the Gulf of Mexico," Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Ali Fadavi said earlier in September.
He rejected the US demand, and explained, "In the view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the presence of the US in the Persian Gulf is illegitimate and makes no sense."
The Iranian Navy has been developing its presence in international waters since last year, regularly launching vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates operating in the area.
Iran also sent two ships into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time in February, via the Suez Canal, to the annoyance of Israel and the United States.
And in July, Sayyari announced that an Iranian submarine had completed an inaugural mission in the Southern Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
