Iran planning naval buildup near US coastal waters

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced that the country 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. Speaking at 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". The remarks come as 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. 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 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.