Iran is set to deploy its 24th fleet of warships to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea in a show of strength, Iran’s Press TV quoted Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari as saying on Wednesday, January 16, Haaretz reported. The deployment will show Iran’s naval capabilities, Sayyari said, as well as demonstrating its ability to counter any threat against Iran’s interests. On December 30, Mehr news agency reported that Iran’s navy was conducting a five-day sea maneuver near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, issuing dozens of warnings to foreign planes and warships that approached its forces. The naval drill, dubbed “Velayat-91,” was a show of strength in the face of mounting pressures over Iran’s disputed nuclear program. Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait, the passageway for one-fifth of the world’s oil supply, over Western sanctions.