Iran and the Fictional Pirates Are Back Again

Photo accompanying the Iranian "news" release is of the French frigate Le Nivose F732

Oil tanker rescued from pirates

TEHRAN, Aug. 25 (MNA) – The Iranian Navy commander has said that a pirate attack on an oil tanker was foiled by the 35th fleet of the Iranian Navy.

Underlining that in the recent years, there have been 189 cases of intense battles against pirates, the Iranian Navy's Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari stated that, “in the past few days, due to the peaceful conditions at the sea, pirates had increased their activities and the Iranian naval flotilla had to thwart their attacks for several times.”

“In the last clash which broke out on Monday, an Iranian oil tanker was attached by several pirate boats equipped with heavy machine guns and was released by the 35th fleet of the Iranian Navy,” added Sayari.

Total pirate attacks reported by anyone else in the area: 0.

It's a mostly harmless fantasy.

So, go 36th fleet! See if you can also defeat "several pirate boats equipped with heavy machine guns" - maybe even with drones and missiles. I mean why stop with machine guns?

Oh, by the way, the 2009 report behind the photo is here:

The Indian Ocean is a slightly safer place today after a gang of gormless Somali pirates were arrested when they accidentally attacked a French warship, the frigate Le Nivose, after mistaking it for a merchant vessel.

The pirates were traveling in three boats, two small skiffs and a nine metre ‘mother ship’. The gang was armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, a grenade launcher and five grenades. They pursued the French naval vessel after failing to recognise it as such after the captain of the frigate, Lieutenant Commander Jean-Marc le Quilliec, decided to head towards the sun to camouflage the ship’s identity.

As the pirates approached they were astonished to see the ‘merchant vessel’ launch an attack helicopter and two assault dinghies full of highly trained and heavily armed French commandos. The pirates immediately surrendered after the helicopter fired a volley of warning shots.

That's not a fantasy.