Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said the armed forces must increase their defense capabilities.
"Our armed forces must steadily increase their capabilities and make strategic plans to identify their gaps and study the enemy's facilities and weak points, regardless of political calculations," Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with navy commanders and personnel in Tehran on Sunday held on the occasion of National Navy Day, which is commemorated on November 28.
The Leader also said, "The navy must continue playing its major and important role in protecting national security and defending the country's tightly-secured boundaries through increasing preparedness and military capabilities, enhancing faith-generated motivations and promoting the spirit of making sacrifice," IRNA reported.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Leader underlined the importance of the development of the Makran coastal strip and said efforts should be made to speed up the process of developing the area through cooperation with the government.
Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari recently said projects are being implemented to develop a stretch of the Makran coastal strip in southern Iran along the coasts of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman from the port city of Bandar Abbas to the border with Pakistan.
"We want to set up bases in three regions and establish naval zones in two regions; and the development of these coasts is on the agenda," Sayyari said.
Prior to the Leader's remarks, Sayyari delivered a speech, in which he commemorated National Navy Day and enumerated the navy's achievements.
He said the navy has been able to improve its combat capabilities, increase the safety of its missions, provide its personnel with adequate training, maintain an effective presence in international waters and deploy forces to the Makran coastal strip with the aim of paving the way for the implementation of development projects in the area.
