TEHRAN (Tasnim) � The Iranian naval forces managed to foil a pirate attack on one of the country's oil tankers in the northeast of the Bab-el-Mandeb, a strait between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

According to a statement released by the public relations office of the Iranian Navy, 32 pirates on board four boats and a fishing ship launched an attack on the Iranian tanker on Wednesday.





As the pirates attempted to hijack the tanker, an escort team of the Iranian Navy rushed to the zone and shooed them away, the statement said.

The attackers fled ultimately after half an hour of heavy clashes with the Iranian naval forces.

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 pirates and, after giving notice to Somali government, enter Somali territorial waters in pursuit of the pirates.

By Tasnim News Agency