“I extend my congratulations to the brave men of the 86th flotilla of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy on their grand and successful naval mission. Dear ones, welcome back home, and may you be successful,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a message on Saturday.
The 86th flotilla, comprised of domestically-manufactured Dena destroyer and Makran forward base ship, docked at the southern port of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, formally ending its historic mission of circumnavigating the world.
It had set sail from Bandar Abbas on September 20 last year for a global voyage that took it to the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans.
The mission was aimed at expanding Iran’s naval presence in international waters.
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