ANKARA
A day after Saudi-led coalition announced the end of operations in Yemen on Tuesday, Iran said two of its warships had reached the Gulf of Aden, the semi-official FNA, Fars News Agency reported Wednesday.
Iran said that the Navy's 34th Fleet, comprising of the Alborz destroyer and the Bushehr support vessel, had left the Bandar Abbas port in the southern province of Hormozgan for the Gulf of Aden on April 8.
This announcement comes after the U.S. Navy said Monday that its aircraft carrier the USS Theodore Roosevelt was on its way to the region, escorted by the USS Normandy, a guided missile destroyer.
The U.S. deploying its carrier came shortly following reports of an Iranian armada sailing toward Yemen in a potential attempt to supply Shiite Houthi rebels.
"Many have asked me whether or not they are there because of the Iranian ship convoy or flotilla that is also in the area. That is certainly one of the factors," Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren told reporters Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari stressed his country's firm decision to maintain its presence in the Gulf of Aden, saying: "There is no need for our flotilla of warships to dock in Yemen, but we are present in the Gulf of Aden powerfully."
Several Gulf States accuse Shiite Iran of supporting Yemen's Houthi insurgency.
The Fars News Agency reported that Iran's warships will conduct anti-piracy patrols to protect the country's cargo ships and oil tankers.
The Gulf of Aden -- near Yemen and close to the world's fourth biggest choke point for oil transit, the Bab el-Mandab strait -- is a strategic energy route for Middle Eastern crude oil.
Fractious Yemen has been in turmoil since last September, when the Houthis overran capital Sanaa, from which they have since sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country.
On March 25, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an extensive air and naval campaign against Houthi positions across Yemen. Despite announcing an end to airstrikes, there have been reports of bombing in Yemen on Wednesday.
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