The Navy's 34th Fleet, comprising Alborz destroyer and Bushehr helicopter-carrier warship, will conduct anti-piracy patrols in the high seas and Gulf of Aden and will protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates.

"This presence (of the Iranian flotilla of warships) continues in the free waters, including the Gulf of Aden, to fight against piracy according to the plan which was drawn at the request of the International Maritime Organization and no one can warn the Iranian warships (to move away) and this has not happened yet," Sayyari told reporters on the sidelines of military parades held in Tehran last Saturday morning to mark the Army Day.

Asked about the possibility of the Iranian warships' deployment near Yemen, he said, "There is no need for our flotilla of warships to dock in Yemen, but we are present in the Gulf of Aden powerfully and at present, our 34th fleet has been sent to the region."

"We don’t have such a plan (for leaving the waterway) and we hope that security will be established in the Gulf of Aden with the help of all countries."

Sayyari also dismissed news reports claiming that Iranian warships have received warnings by Saudi Arabia, and said, "No threat has been made against us; we also don’t allow others to threaten or warn us since we can be present in the free and international waters based on the international laws. We haven’t entered the territorial waters of any country without permission."

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.