Iranian Navy’s public relations office announced on Monday that the Gulf of Aden pirates, on board two boats, launched an attack on an Iranian oil tanker on March 20 and forced the vessel to stop.
Afterwards, a naval group tasked with protecting the trade vessels rushed to the zone and shooed away the pirates, who returned three hours later, this time on board six speedboats armed with semi-heavy weapons. The attackers fled ultimately after hours of heavy clash with the Iranian servicemen.
Since November 2008, the Iranian navy has conducted anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb strait to protect the country's vessels against pirate attacks.
Under the terms of several UN Security Council resolutions, nations can deploy warships to the Gulf of Aden and coastal waters of Somalia to protect their vessels against the pirates and, after giving notice to Somali government, enter Somali territorial in pursuit of the pirates.