Iran dispatched subs to Red Sea for the first time

08.06.2011 Iran sent submarines to patrol the Red Sea. According to Agence France-Presse, this is the first operation of this kind performed by Iranian Navy.

According to reports of Iranian news agency Fars, the subs are tasked to collect data, including information about number of potential enemy's warships. Earlier on, those submarines patrolled the Gulf of Aden where operate Somali pirates.

Neither exact amount of submarines dispatched to the Red Sea nor their type was reported. Iranian Navy operates eight subs. They are three Russian submarines (Project 877 Paltus) purchased early in 90's, Iranian-built Nahang commissioned in 2006, and four Ghadir class subs built in 2010.

Iranian submarines in the Red Sea are nothing but display of force, since Iran considers itself the leading seapower in the Middle East, reports AFP. By the way, Tehran takes such actions not for the first time.

In Feb 2011 Iranian ships carried out the longest sea cruise in the recent years. Having received permission from Egyptian authorities, frigate Alvand and replenishment ship Kharg passed through the Suez Canal, entered the Mediterranean Sea and reached Syria. That cruise to the Med Sea angered Israel and became the first for Iran since Islamic revolution of 1979.