Iran announced on Monday it was deploying a naval destroyer to protect its vessels in the Gulf of Aden.
Iran’s state-run Press TV said the newly deployed destroyer was equipped with long-range cruise missile systems and had been dispatched to provide security for Iranian ships traveling through the region, Asharq Al-Awsat reports.
It said the ship, which it described as Iran’s most advanced destroyer, would be accompanied by a logistical vessel and a helicopter carrier.
Tensions have been high in the region between Tehran and Washington since the Trump administration withdrew in 2018 from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.