TEHRAN – The Iranian navy commander has announced that the first marine diesel engine, entirely designed and built by Iranian experts, will be unveiled soon.

Admiral Shahram Irani revealed the story on a Saturday night TV show. His remarks came as Iran celebrated Navy Day, which fell on November 28.

“The first marine diesel engine designed entirely by the youth of this country will be unveiled shortly. This engine, whose parts are entirely Iranian, will be unveiled in the coming days and will be installed on Iran’s first missile warship. “Irani said.

The commander-in-chief noted that this engine has “very special characteristics” and was built in accordance with the pursuit of naval missions and made Iran self-sufficient in the production of diesel engines.

“There are only five countries in the world that can build marine diesel engines, and luckily Iran is one of those countries with the production of these engines,” Irani said, according to the news agency. Mehr.

The head of the navy also referred to Operation Morvarid (Pearl) during Holy Defense, saying: “Operation Morvarid was the result of a series of operations, and in fact it was the result of our forces in the navy that changed the course of the war. . “

The admiral was referring to the early days of Saddam Hussein’s war against Iran in the 1980s, in which the Iranian navy destroyed Iraqi warships in the Persian Gulf.

Irani said the operation had special characteristics, the first characteristic of which was to cut off the enemy’s economic artery. As a result, he added, the ability of Saddam’s regime to export oil through Persia was cut off.

“The destruction of the naval power of the Iraqi Baathist army was another of our achievements in Operation Morvarid, which took place at the start of the war, and shows the importance of this operation. On the other hand, with the destruction of the naval capability of the Baathist army, Iran’s shipping lines for oil exports and the export of goods and import of commodities became secure. , and the Iraqi army could no longer threaten these maritime lines ”, underlined Admiral Irani.

In another part of his remarks, he referred to the bravery of the staff and crew of the destroyer Peykan (Arrow), saying: “At that time the destruction of the Baathist regime’s naval force was necessary. and they (staff and crew) sacrificed their lives to defend the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The head of the navy added: “Although the sacred defense is over, but war and threats in the military field have always existed and the enemies have always tried to threaten the interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran with an intention malicious.

It was around this time that the Navy took on the mission of escorting merchant ships, including tankers, and was able to perform the mission well, he said, adding that this mission continues with the spread of piracy and that now Iran’s trade borders have expanded. more than 2000 kilometers.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Admiral referred to the manufacture of equipment and ships in the navy, saying, “We started with the rebuilding of the ship and then we moved into the shipbuilding business; Of course, the destroyer production process was started with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and on that basis, and with initiative and creativity, we have reached a point where we can produce the required ships. “