TEHRAN (Iran News) –  Commander Says Israeli Presence in Region “Mirage”. The Commander of Iran’s Navy says the Israeli regime’s presence in the region is a mirage.

a televised interview on Saturday, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi highlighted the high-level security of the Iranian sea borders and the accurate observation of any intrusive movement there.

Admiral Khanzadi pointed to piracies carried out at the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean and noted that such movements caused more vigilance of the regional countries.

“Iran’s Navy has a significant presence in the east and north of the Indian Ocean; the Iranian Navy is considered also as a naval power in the North Indian Ocean,” he added.

The commander referred to the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) held recently in Chabahar and Iran’s efforts to establish a center for directing the meeting’s security efforts and noted: “The center is being established for the first time in Chabahar Free Zone. The main effort of the center is to collect clean data and get intelligence over the northern Indian Ocean region.

“The information should be shared between the countries, and any activity that interferes with maritime security must be stopped. The center can also conduct naval operations,” the Iranian Military commander reassured.

He also said that the presence of its vessels in the Atlantic Ocean “is a response to US claims that Iran would never be able to have a presence in the Atlantic.”

Reports emerged in May that Iran was dispatching two naval vessels to the Western hemisphere and an Iranian official confirmed the destination as Venezuela on June 1. The vessels might be carrying missiles and possibly speed boats to Venezuela according to an arms agreement made last year.

The Biden administration told Venezuela and Cuba not to allow the ships, to dock at their ports, Politico reported on June 9.

It is not clear exactly where the vessels are, but they have sailed into the Atlantic Ocean.

Khanzadi said the presence of Iran’s navy ships in the waters of the Atlantic are worrying the United States. He seemed to be referring to the symbolic value of the move rather than a military threat.

Iran barely has an ocean-going navy as it has not been able to acquire significant warships from naval powers and has attempted to build or convert commercial vessels as warships.

He hailed Iran’s capacity in the producing of naval vessels, saying some of the Iranian vessels are now thousand kilometers away from Iran escorting Iranian tankers.

He also referred to production of advanced marine diesel engines in Iran under support of the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Khanzadi lauded security in Iranian waters, saying any movement is being monitored 24/7 and the Iranian navy drones will conduct their aerial reconnaissance operations.

He pointed to producing hovercraft by the Iranian Ministry of Defense.