FOR the second time, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said that the country is planning to build a research base in Antarctica.
According to the navy chief, the country looks forward to conducting “military and scientific” work at the South Pole as well as to proudly raise the flag of Iran in Antarctica.
Irani also praised the Islamic Republic‘s two-ship 86th Fleet which completed a circumnavigation voyage dubbed the “360-Degree Mission Around the World” back in May.
In the same month, the government revealed its desire to send warships to Antarctica in the “near future” and that the round-the-world expedition performed by the flotilla was a preparation for the said mission.
Moreover, the navy chief said the flotilla “broke the hegemony of world powers” and that the mission re-asserted Iran’s global maritime presence.
Irani made the statement during the commemoration of the Sacred Defense Week – an event held in remembrance of the 1980-1988 war between Iran and Iraq.