Commander Reveals Iranian Navy's Plan to Deploy Warships in Latin America

Commander Reveals Iranian Navy's Plan to Deploy Warships in Latin America

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TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Army Commander Major General Ataollah Salehi announced plans to deploy warships and destroyers in Latin American waters.
"We intend to take a longer stride in marine voyages and even go towards friendly states in Latin America," Salehi told reporters in the Southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday on the sidelines of a ceremony to welcome the Navy's 38th fleet of warships after 75 days of deployment in international waters.
Noting that Iran plans to increase naval cooperation with Latin American countries, he said, "The Navy is capable of deploying in that region."
Salehi also underlined that equipment of the Navy with more state-of-the-art weapons and tools is among the Army's priorities in the Iranian new year (which started on March 20).
Iran has been seeking to broaden ties and cooperation with Latin American states, including Venezuela, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Cuba, Mexico and Colombia.
Iran's strong and rapidly growing ties with Latin America have raised eyebrows in the US and its western allies since Tehran and Latin nations have forged an alliance against the imperialist and colonialist powers and are striving hard to reinvigorate their relations with the other independent countries which pursue a line of policy independent from the US.
In relevant remarks in November, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Europe and America Majid Takht Ravanchi underscored the importance of relations with Latin America for Tehran, and called for providing the ground for the further development of bilateral relations.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran is interested and resolved to develop and deepen relations with the Latin American states, specially in different economic, investment and multilateral cooperation fields," Takht Ravanchi said, addressing a joint meeting between the Iranian envoys to the Latin American countries and their Latin American counterparts in Tehran.
Referring to the changes in the international community and the considerable economic capacities in the Latin American region, he said, "In such an atmosphere, important opportunities have been created for cooperation and the path of cooperation should be paved for flourishing relations."
Takht Ravanchi described the visit of Latin American presidents to Tehran to participate in the upcoming Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) meeting on November 23 as a good opportunity for consultations to further strengthen ties.
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