The Iranian flotilla, comprised of the domestically-built, missile-launching warships ‘Separ’ (shield) and ‘Joshan’, is set to have a three-day stay in Kazakhstan’s Aktau Port, in the east bank of the Caspian Sea.
This is the second time that Iranian Navy’s Northern Fleet dispatches flotilla to Kazakhstan. The first one, comprised of the home-grown Damavand destroyer and Peykan missile-launcher destroyer, had visited Aktau in April 2017.
According to Navy’s Deputy Commander Rear-Admiral Touraj Hassani-Moqaddam, dispatching the “peace and friendship flotilla” to the Caspian Sea littoral states is on Navy’s agenda in the current calendar year (started on March 21). The force, in return, will host the navy flotilla of Azerbaijan, Russia and Kazakhstan.
Iran has been expanding its presence in different waters. The country’s navy carries out recurrent military maneuvers and maritime security missions in the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Aden, and the Suez Canal, with an aim to contribute to international maritime security and reinforce the country’s diplomacy.
- source : Mehrnews
