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IRGC Plans to Build Permanent Base in the Indian Ocean

The IRGC naval force, which often operates in tandem with the Iranian Navy, will build a permanent base in the Indian Ocean. AFP via IRIB, HO
The IRGC naval force, which often operates in tandem with the Iranian Navy, will build a permanent base in the Indian Ocean. AFP via IRIB, HO
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IRGC Plans to Build Permanent Base in the Indian Ocean

The IRGC naval force, which often operates in tandem with the Iranian Navy, will build a permanent base in the Indian Ocean. AFP via IRIB, HO
The IRGC naval force, which often operates in tandem with the Iranian Navy, will build a permanent base in the Indian Ocean. AFP via IRIB, HO

The naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plan to build a permanent base in the Indian Ocean by the end of the year, Navy Commander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri told state-run Fars news agency.

This falls under the goals put by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“Building a permanent marine base will improve security in the mouth of the Indian Ocean that will also be of great help to the growing presence of Iranian fishing and fishing development in the region,” he said.

The IRGC commander said that through its presence in the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean, “the IRGC will no longer leave any room for such acts of infringement.”

"The deployment of the fleet by the IRGC navy to distant waters has been done in the past, and our second fleet was also sent to the waters of the Indian Ocean," he concluded.

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Maldives Ban Israelis to Protest Gaza War 

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Maldives Ban Israelis to Protest Gaza War 

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)
The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010. (Getty Images/AFP)

The Maldives announced Tuesday it was banning the entry of Israelis from the luxury tourist archipelago in "resolute solidarity" with the Palestinian people.

President Mohamed Muizzu ratified the legislation shortly after it was approved by parliament on Tuesday.

"The ratification reflects the government's firm stance in response to the continuing atrocities and ongoing acts of genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people," his office said in a statement.

"The Maldives reaffirms its resolute solidarity with the Palestinian cause."

The ban will be implemented with immediate effect, a spokesman for Muizzu's office told AFP.

The Maldives, a small Islamic republic of 1,192 strategically located coral islets, is known for its secluded white sandy beaches, shallow turquoise lagoons and Robinson Crusoe-style getaways.

Official data showed that only 59 Israeli tourists visited the archipelago in February, among 214,000 other foreign arrivals.

The Maldives had lifted a previous ban on Israeli tourists in the early 1990s and briefly moved to restore relations in 2010.

Opposition parties and government allies in the Maldives have been pressuring Muizzu to ban Israelis as a statement of opposition to the Gaza war.

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged its citizens last year to avoid travelling to the Maldives.

The Gaza war broke out after Palestinian group Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Gaza's health ministry said on Sunday that at least 1,613 Palestinians had been killed since March 18, when a ceasefire collapsed, taking the overall death toll since the war began to 50,983.