An official ceremony has been held in the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas to welcome the arrival of a naval flotilla back home, after its successful journey around the world.
The ceremony was attended by top military commanders including the chief of general staff of the Iranian armed forces. Major General Mohammad Bagheri said at the ceremony that the expedition marks the beginning of a new chapter in the growth of Iran’s naval power. The general added that the mission is a unique achievement for a navy subject to sanctions and other propaganda and pressure. The flotilla comprised the domestically-manufactured Dena destroyer and Makran forward base ship. They entered Iranian waters on May 17. The flotilla completed its 63-thousand-kilometer journey around the earth in eight months. It marked the first time an Iranian naval group entered the Pacific. The vessels sailed to South America and visited South Africa before returning home.