TEHRAN, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The commander of Iran's Navy Real-Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said Wednesday that presence of Iran's naval forces in international waters displays the country's military power, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

    "(Being) present in international waters and high seas is an element of the Iranian army's military might," Sayyari was quoted as saying.

    "The move is aimed at providing security for the Islamic Republic of Iran's trade ships and oil tankers," he said while he was addressing a gathering of the Iranian Navy's officials.

    Iran's navy prevented an attempt to hijack an Iranian oil tanker by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, the official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday.

    According to a report by the public relations department of Iran's Navy Force, pirates in the Gulf of Aden planned in the past days to hijack an Iranian oil tanker named "Hadi" but its warship arrived in the scene on time to rescue it, IRNA said.

    In May, Iran announced that it will send two warships to Somalian coast to fight pirates.

    In November last year, Somalian pirates hijacked a Hong Kong cargo ship loaded with 36,000 tons of wheat, which was chartered by an Iranian company, in the Gulf of Aden near the coast of Yemen.

    In December, an Iranian warship was sent to the Gulf of Aden in Somalia waters on a mission to protect Iranian ships and fight pirates.

    Each year about 20,000 vessels pass through the Gulf of Aden, which links Indian Ocean with Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. More than 100 ships are estimated to have been attacked in the African waters so far.