The Washington Free Beacon reported on January 11 that Iran's navy is set to station warships for the first time in the Panama Canal, a critical trade route in America's backyard that has never before seen an Iranian military presence.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy has been present in almost all strategic straits throughout the globe except two, so it paves the ground for dispatching vessels to one of them this year and the other one in the future, Commander of IRI Navy Rear Admiral Shahram Irani recently emphasized.
The Panama Canal is an artificial 82 km waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America.
Iran's goal "has always been to have a military presence in Latin America, so it's not surprising at all for its navy to announce it's going to make moves on the Panama Canal," said Joseph Humire, a national security analyst who focuses on Latin American issues as executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society think tank.
"This is what Iran has been building in Latin America for the past 30 or 40 years" by establishing embassies and bilateral agreements with a host of nations, Humire said.
"This is a tremendous escalation if it is to happen," Humire said. "Many people may discount Iran in terms of its capabilities … but I would not discount it because they have been building to this for a very long time."
It is worth mentioning that the Islamic Republic would display its marine might to the world in particular the US, when the Iranian naval fleets pass the Panama Canal.