TEHRAN: Iran has sent two warships to patrol the Gulf of Aden and protect its commercial vessels and oil tankers against attacks by pirates off the Somali coast, the state television website said yesterday.
“Two Iranian warships will arrive in the Gulf of Aden in the next two days and will remain in the territory for the next five months,” the Islamic republic’s United Nations representative Mohammad Khazai was quoted as saying.
“The aim of sending these ships is to protect Iranian commercial vessels and oil tankers or those ships which carry Iranian commodities or nationals,” he added.
Last December, Iran said it had sent a warship to the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian vessels against the pirates. Yesterday’s report did not mention whether the two latest warships would join the earlier one.
Meanwhile, Iran’s state television is to air debates by candidates competing in the June presidential election, the broadcaster’s chief Ezatollah Zarghami was quoted as saying by local media yesterday.
“Six attractive televised debates are on the broadcaster’s electoral agenda,” Zarghami said, vowing “fairness” in coverage by his organization which has a monopoly on broadcasting in Iran.
Incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has faced mounting criticism in Iran mainly over his handling of the economy, has welcomed the plan.
Zarghami did not say when the debates would be broadcast but campaigning for the June 12 election begins on May 22 after a conservative electoral watchdog unveils the list of candidates allowed to stand. Other leading hopefuls include former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi, ex-Parliament Speaker Mehdi Karroubi and former Revolutionary Guards head, Mohsen Rezai — all fiercely critical of Ahmadinejad.
