Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called for the stronger presence of Iranian naval forces in international waters.
"Our country has long maritime borders and a long history of seafaring. Thus, the power and capability of the Islamic Republic's Navy should be in line with the merit and level of the Islamic establishment and the country's history," Ayatollah Khamenei said on Sunday in a meeting with Navy commanders and officials on the occasion of National Navy Day, Tasnim News Agency reported.
The Leader described the Navy's mighty presence in international waters as a factor contributing to the strength and capability of the country, stressing that such a presence should be expanded.
In recent years, Iran's naval forces have increased their presence on the high seas to secure naval routes and protect merchant vessels and oil tankers against pirates.
Earlier this month, the Navy's 44th flotilla of warships sailed around the African continent and entered the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.
There are also plans for Iranian Navy vessels to sail across the Atlantic Ocean in future.
In the Sunday meeting, Ayatollah Khamenei also referred to Washington's plans to renew sanctions against Iran, reiterating that such a move would be a breach of last year's nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.
He dismissed the notion that it will not be new sanctions but renewal of previous sanctions.
"There is no difference between starting a sanction and restarting it after it expires, and the second one also constitutes a violation of previous commitments by the other party [to the nuclear deal]."
The comments came after US lawmakers passed a bill on November 15, renewing sanctions on Iran for 10 years.
The House of Representatives voted 419 to one for a 10-year reauthorization of the Iran Sanctions Act, a law first adopted in 1996 to punish investments in Iran's energy industry. The measure still needs approval by the Senate and the US president to become law.
On Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei had said the implementation of the anti-Iran bill would be a breach of the nuclear pact, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, warning the US government that Iran would certainly react to it.
"If such an extension [of anti-Iran sanctions] is implemented and comes into force [in the US], it will be definitely a violation of the JCPOA," he said.
The Leader stressed, "They [Americans] should know that the Islamic Republic of Iran will certainly show a reaction to it."
