President Rouhani declared that "the power that can defend the country's interests from hundreds of miles away is the navy... the navy is capable of defending not only our coasts in the Persian Gulf, the Oman Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Indian Ocean, but also the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran with its presence and authority in international waters". He added that "Bandar Abbas and all southern ports of Iran, the Strait of Hormuz and all our territorial waters are witness and proof of Iran's armed force defending free shipping in the region and the flow of energy around the world, which suggests that Iran's power is never a threat to others".