An Iranian warship has fended off a pirate attack on an oil tanker belonging to the Islamic Republic in the Gulf of Aden in the Indian Ocean following a heavy exchange of fire, the state-run news agency Press TV reports.
According to the news outlet, the attack took place in the early hours of Saturday, when pirates on board five speedboats tried to hijack the tanker, which, along with another Iranian oil vessel, was sailing through the area. The names of the tankers were not revealed.
Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani told Press TV that "the 78th naval fleet of the Islamic Republic of Iran, consisting of the Alborz destroyer [among other warships], was attacked by five pirate boats […] while escorting two Iranian tankers".
He said that the pirates were forced to flee after a heavy exchange of fire, describing the incident as "maritime terrorism".
"With the timely action of the army marines, the two tankers safely passed through the Gulf of Aden, and now our country's [merchant] ships and that of other countries are passing through this area in total security, and so far no specific case has been reported" there, the commander added.
The remarks come a few months after the Iranian Navy said that it had deployed its Alborz destroyer to the Gulf of Aden to safeguard maritime routes from pirate attacks.
Iranian warships have been carrying out patrols in the Gulf of Aden (in the waters off Somalia) since November 2008, protecting merchant vessels and oil tankers owned or leased by Iran or other nations, in sync with international efforts to fight piracy.