"Over the past few years, the Iranian Navy has been in the Gulf of Aden and north of the Indian Ocean to fight against terrorism," Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in a meeting with the commander of Oman’s National Defense College (NDC), Major General Salim Musallam Qatan on Tuesday.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran's Navy has deployed in the North of the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden and this presence will continue forever," he added.

Qatan, for his part, called for the further expansion of relations between Iran and Oman, and said, "The two countries' navies have good cooperation in fighting terrorism and drug trafficking."

"The fleet of warships managed to show an active presence in the region from the Sea of Oman to the Red Sea and provide security for Iranian and foreign cargo ships and oil tankers," Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in the Southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Sunday.

He said that 5 attempts by pirates to hijack the Iranian ships in international waters were foiled by the timely action of the 32nd fleet deployed to the region, adding that the flotilla saved 5 Iranian oil tankers and cargo ships from the attacks of pirate boats.

Since November 2008, the Iranian Navy has conducted anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb strait to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers against pirates.