Iranian warships will sail to U.S. maritime borders for first time to send 'a message' to the White House

• Destroyer and supply ship left Iran last month and are crossing the Atlantic Ocean 

• Deployment is a response to U.S. naval deployments near Iran's coastlines

• Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad of Iran's Northern Navy Fleet said: 'This move has a message'

• Ships expected to sail for at least three months

By Associated Press Reporter and Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 18:12 EST, 8 February 2014 | UPDATED: 19:27 EST, 8 February 2014

Iranian warships dispatched to the Atlantic Ocean will travel close to U.S. maritime borders for the first time in a bid to send 'a message' to the White House.
A destroyer and helicopter-carrying supply shipbegan their voyage last month from the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas and are on a three-month mission.

The voyage is intended to counter the U.S. naval presence in the Persian Gulf, as the Islamic Republic continues to assert its power across the Middle East and beyond.

'Iran's military fleet is approaching the United States' maritime borders, and this move has a message,'  Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad of Iran's Northern Navy Fleet said, according to
The Jerusalem Post.

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'This move has a message': Iranian warships dispatched to the Atlantic Ocean last month will travel close to U.S. maritime borders for the first time in response to U.S. fleets near Iran

Haddad said the vessels have already entered the Atlantic Ocean via waters near South Africa, carrying about 30 navy academy cadets for training along with their regular crews.
Iran had first warned America of its plans to deploy its naval forces along U.S. marine borders 'in the next few years' in September 2012.
Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari at the time said that the move would be a response to U.S. naval deployments near its own coastlines. 
The U.S. Navy’s 5th fleet is based in Bahrain, just across the Persian Gulf.
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Iranian warships 'to sail close to US maritime border'

Iran is reported to be eager to project its naval power beyond the Middle East

Iranian warships in the Atlantic Ocean are to sail close to US maritime borders for the first time, a senior naval commander has said.

Iranian media quoted Adm Afshin Rezayee Haddad as saying the deployment was a response to US vessels in the Gulf.

The fleet consists of a destroyer and a helicopter-carrying supply ship.

It began its voyage last month and entered the Atlantic though South African waters, the IRNA news agency quoted the admiral as saying.

The Iranian ships are reported to be carrying about 30 navy academy cadets for training along with their regular crews. They are on a three-month mission.

Correspondents say that the voyage comes amid continuing efforts by Iran to to project its power across the Middle East and beyond.

The semi-official Fars news agency said the move was a response to an increased US naval presence in the Gulf.

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