Iranian Navy to Build Unmanned Submarines

Iran plans to build unmanned submarines. "This issue is on our agenda like other issues and cases," Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told FNA when asked if the Iranian Navy has plans to build unmanned submarines and other types of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles. About the reasons he didn’t provide any further details on the project, but it is known the Iranian Navy has been conducting anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden since November 2008, when Somali raiders hijacked the Iranian-chartered cargo ship, MV Delight, off the coast of Yemen.

According to UN Security Council resolutions, different countries can send their warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia against the pirates and even with prior notice to Somali government enter the territorial waters of that country in pursuit of Somali sea pirates. The Gulf of Aden - which links the Indian Ocean with the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea - is an important energy corridor, particularly because Persian Gulf oil is shipped to the West via the Suez Canal.