The Iranian Navy plans to start designing and building heavy vessels such as aircraft carriers, a senior Iranian Navy commander announced.

"The Iranian Army's Navy has done a good job in designing and building various types of vessels, and now after acquiring the know-how and experience the Navy is after designing and building chopper and aircraft carriers," Deputy Commander of the Iranian Navy for Research and Self-sufficiency Jihad Capitan Mansour Maqsoudlou said, Fars News Agency reported.

The Captain further named Jamaran 2 Destroyer as the most noteworthy vessel under production at present, and said it is among the several vessels in the final stages of production.

Iran's first home-made destroyer, Jamaran 1, was launched in late February 2010. The Mowdge Class vessel has a displacement of around 14,000 tons and is equipped with modern radars and electronic warfare capabilities and is armed with a variety of anti-ship, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles.

The remarks by Maqsoudlou came as Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari announced that the country plans to build up a naval presence "near the maritime borders of the United States".