Iran’s navy commander remarked that “the navy of the army has a strong presence in the Red Sea and escorts the tankers of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which are threatened by proxy terrorist groups to make sure the vessels safely cross the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to the Red Sea”. He further asserted that “the enemies wanted to close the ports on us in the first phase, and in the second phase to close the seas and sea routes to our trade ships and oil tankers… the deployment of the navy had disrupted all of the enemy’s equations at sea”.