https://sputnikglobe.com/20230514/iranian-flotilla-returns-to-home-waters-after-round-the-world-trip-through-americas-backyard-1110356921.html
Iranian Flotilla Approaches Home Waters After Round-the-World Trip Through ‘America’s Backyard’
Iranian Flotilla Approaches Home Waters After Round-the-World Trip Through ‘America’s Backyard’
Sputnik International
The voyage was the second time that Tehran has sent a mini-armada on a world-spanning journey since 2021, when a pair of Islamic Republic of Iran Navy ships traveled more than 45,000 km around Africa, through the English Channel and the Baltic Sea to St. Petersburg, Russia to participate in a naval parade.
2023-05-14T19:18+0000
2023-05-14T19:18+0000
2023-05-14T19:41+0000
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The Iranian’s Navy’s 86th Flotilla – consisting of the Dena frigate and the Makran forward base ship, arrived in the southwestern Omani port of Salalah on Sunday on the final leg of its world-spanning tour, which included a much-publicized stopover in the Western hemisphere, to Washington’s annoyance.The flotilla, which has traveled over 63,000 km, broke the record set by the Makran and the Sahand in 2021.The United States military closely monitored the flotilla along its route, with the State Department expressing its “deep disappointment” over Brazil’s decision to allow the Iranian warships to dock in Rio. Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols told a Congressional committee that the Islamic Republic’s vessels “have no place in our hemisphere,” parroting the rhetoric of the 19th century’s Monroe Doctrine, which holds that the entire Western Hemisphere is the exclusive security domain of the United States.Washington threatened slap new sanctions on Tehran if the Iranian flotilla sailed through the Panama Canal, with a State Department spokesman warning in February that the US has “a number of tools in our tool belt available to hold the regime accountable.”The same month, US special envoy for Iran Robert Malley announced sanctions against the Makran and the Dena, and warned that “any person or entity conducting transactions that involve these ships risks exposure to US sanctions themselves.”Former Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush penned a fiery op-ed calling on Washington to pressure Panama City into choosing “between aiding a misogynistic and murderous regime or clearly aligning itself with the free world.”Panama ignored US intimidation and allowed the Iranian ships to sail through without incident.Commenting on the 86th's Flotilla's successful round-the-world journey on Saturday, Iranian Navy commander Shahram Irani called US threats little more than an empty “rant.”According to Irani, Iran also got some complaints from France, which accused Tehran of violating its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in French Polynesia during its journey through the Pacific.The French Navy and Australia’s Ministry of Defense each separately confirmed that tracking the Makran and the Dena as they steamed through the two countries’ Pacific EEZs, but no mention of any violations was made during the Iranian ships' journey through the area in December and early January.The Makran is a 121,000 ton forward base ship which can be customized with an assortment of anti-air, anti-ship and land attack missiles, and radar systems placed on its football field-sized deck, and features a helicopter landing deck with room for as many as seven helicopters. The warship is a converted oil tanker, and as such can hold tens of thousands of tons of fuel for long, globe-spanning journeys. The Dena is a Moudge-class frigate (Iran classifies this class of warships as destroyers) with a 1,500 ton displacement, advanced radars, a 76 mm naval gun, as well as cannon, heavy machine gun and close-in weapons, surface to air, surface to surface missiles and anti-submarine warfare torpedoes.The Makran has endowed Iran’s Navy with a global reach never before enjoyed by the Islamic Republic. In March, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Navy took delivery of its own large ocean-going vessel, the 36,000 ton Shahid Mahdavi. That warship – another conversion, this time from a Panamax container ship, can be equipped with an array of onboard missile systems, drones and speedboats, and is fitted with an Iranian-made 3D phased array radar, electronic warfare and communications systems.
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iran, flotilla, journey, trip, us, western hemisphere, brazil, south africa, iranian navy
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Iranian Flotilla Approaches Home Waters After Round-the-World Trip Through ‘America’s Backyard’
19:18 GMT 14.05.2023 (Updated: 19:41 GMT 14.05.2023) The voyage was the second time that Tehran has sent a mini-armada on a world-spanning journey since 2021, when a pair of Islamic Republic of Iran Navy ships traveled more than 45,000 km around Africa, through the English Channel and the Baltic Sea to St. Petersburg, Russia to participate in a naval parade.
The Iranian’s Navy’s 86th Flotilla – consisting of the Dena frigate and the Makran forward base ship, arrived in the southwestern Omani port of Salalah on Sunday on the final leg of its world-spanning tour, which included a much-publicized stopover in the Western hemisphere, to Washington’s annoyance.
The flotilla, which has traveled over 63,000 km, broke the record set by the Makran and the Sahand in 2021.
The Makran and the Dena began their journey on September 20, 2022, steaming east through the Indian Ocean, into the South China Sea, then into the Pacific and on to the Atlantic, including a stopover in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil before heading out toward Cape Town, South Africa, where another stopover was made.
The United States military
closely monitored the flotilla along its route, with the State Department expressing its “deep disappointment” over Brazil’s decision to allow the Iranian warships to dock in Rio. Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols told a Congressional committee that the Islamic Republic’s vessels
“have no place in our hemisphere,” parroting the rhetoric of the 19th century’s Monroe Doctrine, which
holds that the entire Western Hemisphere is the exclusive security domain of the United States.
Washington threatened slap new sanctions on Tehran if the Iranian flotilla sailed through the Panama Canal, with a State Department spokesman
warning in February that the US has “a number of tools in our tool belt available to hold the regime accountable.”
The same month, US special envoy for Iran Robert Malley
announced sanctions against the Makran and the Dena, and warned that “any person or entity conducting transactions that involve these ships risks exposure to US sanctions themselves.”
Former Florida governor and Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush penned a
fiery op-ed calling on Washington to pressure Panama City into choosing “between aiding a misogynistic and murderous regime or clearly aligning itself with the free world.”
Panama
ignored US intimidation and
allowed the Iranian ships to sail through without incident.
Commenting on the 86th's Flotilla's successful round-the-world journey on Saturday, Iranian Navy commander Shahram Irani called US threats little more than an empty
“rant.”“They could not even prevent our flotilla from sailing into the Panama Canal…This was another slap in the face of the Great Satan,” Irani said, using the term often used to refer to the United States since the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
According to Irani, Iran also got some complaints from France, which accused Tehran of violating its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in French Polynesia during its journey through the Pacific.
“The French own some islands in the Pacific. Unfortunately, they were not aware of their own regulations and caused disturbances for us, to which we responded with the language of the law. The recent incident was a big blow to the French in the field of international shipping, and they never talked about it,” the commander said.
The French Navy and Australia’s Ministry of Defense
each separately
confirmed that tracking the Makran and the Dena as they steamed through the two countries’ Pacific EEZs, but no mention of any violations was made during the Iranian ships' journey through the area in December and early January.
The Makran is a 121,000 ton forward base ship which can be customized with an assortment of anti-air, anti-ship and land attack missiles, and radar systems placed on its football field-sized deck, and features a helicopter landing deck with room for as many as seven helicopters. The warship is a converted oil tanker, and as such can hold tens of thousands of tons of fuel for long, globe-spanning journeys. The Dena is a Moudge-class frigate (Iran classifies this class of warships as destroyers) with a 1,500 ton displacement, advanced radars, a 76 mm naval gun, as well as cannon, heavy machine gun and close-in weapons, surface to air, surface to surface missiles and anti-submarine warfare torpedoes.
The Makran has endowed Iran’s Navy with a global reach never before enjoyed by the Islamic Republic. In March, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Navy
took delivery of its own large ocean-going vessel, the 36,000 ton Shahid Mahdavi. That warship – another conversion, this time from a Panamax container ship, can be equipped with an array of onboard missile systems, drones and speedboats, and is fitted with an Iranian-made 3D phased array radar, electronic warfare and communications systems.
