Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that Iran’s Naval Forces are to expand their presence in the international waters in order to safeguard the country’s interests and rights.

Today the Iranian Navy's presence is extended from the Persian Gulf to the north of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and Bab el-Mandeb, he added.

The Commander reiterated that the Navy would be present anywhere on the international waters in order to safeguard the Islamic Republic’s interests.

Sayyari said the Navy has escorted more than 1,500 commercial ships and oil tankers in the Gulf of Aden and north of the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, the leader of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah warned that Iran could hit U.S. bases in the Middle East in response to any Israeli strike on its nuclear facilities - even if American Forces played no role in the attack.

“A decision has been taken to respond and the response will be very great,” Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in an interview with the Beirut-based al-Mayadeen television earlier this week.

“The response will not be just inside the Israeli entity - American bases in the whole region could be Iranian targets,” he said, citing information he said was from Iranian officials. “If Israel targets Iran, America bears responsibility.”

Source: IRNA; Al Arabiya