DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian state TV says that an Iranian destroyer and support vessel are now sailing in the Atlantic Ocean in a rare mission far from the Islamic Republic, without offering the vessels’ final destination. The trip by the new domestically built destroyer Sahand and the intelligence-gathering vessel Makran was announced on Thursday. It comes amid U.S. media reports that cited anonymous American officials as saying the ships were bound for Venezuela. The Associated Press could not immediately confirm the ships’ destination. The vessels departed from Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas. Iran described it as the navy’s longest and most challenging voyage yet, without elaborating.
