Iran plans to dispatch warships to Italy

By  Trend

Iranian warships most likely will visit Italian ports in the near future, Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said.

Iran’s Navy hosted an Italian warship in southern port city of Bandar Abbas yesterday, Sayyari said, IRINN TV reported on September 25.

It is an important event indicating the European countries’ interest to form maritime relations with the Islamic Republic, Sayyari said.

However he underlined that holding a joint drill with Italian warship which was held upon its arrival doesn’t mean cooperating with NATO.

He further said that, on September 24 Iranian navy dispatched a “peace and friendship flotilla” consisting of two guided-missile destroyer, a frigate carrier and a fleet support ship as well as a helicopter to Pakistan’s ports to provide security in high risk regions.

The Italian Navy frigate dubbed Euro arrived in Bandar Abbas, the capital of Iran’s southern Hormozgan Province, on September 24 for a four-day stay. The visit comes in line with the two countries’ plan to boost friendly military relations.

In a meeting with Italy’s ambassador to Tehran, Mauro Conciatori, and the country’s military attaché, Commander of Iran’s First Naval Zone Admiral Hossein Azad said the Italian frigate has been dispatched to the Islamic Republic with the purpose of improving political, cultural and military relations.