"We have been able to become the best naval power in the region by promoting our naval capabilities," Sayyari said on the sidelines of a conference on the development of Iran's Southeastern coasts of Makran underway in Chabahar, Southeast of Iran.
"The Navy of the Islamic Iran is constantly moving towards progress," he told the Islamic republic news agency.
The commander further renewed Iran's support for regional security, and stated, "We are after sustainable security in the region and want to see this durable security in the region and the Strait of Hormuz."
The Iranian Navy has accelerated and widened its progress after Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei described it as "a strategic force".
"Given the current issues of the world and today's geopolitical conditions of the world, we should strengthen ourselves in sea and in coast as far as we can," Ayatollah Khamenei stressed on November 28, 2010, addressing senior Navy commanders here in Tehran in a ceremony to commemorate the National Navy Day.
The leader also stressed that increasing manpower, recruiting talented personnel and taking innovations and initiatives into action are highly necessary for the future of the country's naval forces.
Iran's naval power has even been acknowledged by foes. In a Sep. 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy said that in the two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the Islamic Republic has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.
According to the report, Iran's Navy has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force and is effectively in control of the world's oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz.
The study says that if Washington takes military action against the Islamic Republic, the scale of Iran's response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets.
