IRGC Chief Says Iran’s Advanced Maritime Technologies ‘Stir Fear Among Enemies’

Iran’s Navy and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy have traditionally been assigned to defending Iran’s coastline – much of which runs along the sensitive and strategic Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Hormuz. In September, a pair of warships showed off Iran’s ocean-going capabilities by sailing to Russia’s St. Petersburg.

Iran’s advanced maritime technologies are a source of consternation among the Islamic Republic’s adversaries and serve as a message that Tehran will not allow any country to carry out aggression against it, Revolutionary Guards chief Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami has warned.

“Before the Revolution [of 1979] all structures of our power were built by others, meaning that the pillars of our defence power were at the mercy of others,” the commander said, speaking to Revolutionary Guard marine units at the Imam Khamenei University of Marine Sciences and Technology in Nowshahr, northern Iran.

“However, following the Islamic Revolution, we have achieved a [high level of] power and technology, and this has stirred fear among Iran’s enemies,” Salami added. “Through the Revolution, God has established the tradition of the oppressed overcoming the arrogant to inherit the Earth and the tradition of realizing divine justice."

“Today, we have maintained our maritime domination, and also expanded our maritime reach,” Salami boasted, adding that the country possesses “advanced maritime technologies” to ensure defence.

“To be independent, we need independence in science, technology, power generation, economy and culture, which are the main signs of a society’s identity,” the commander stressed. “Our empowerment is unstoppable and everyone should heed this message. We will not allow anyone to interfere in the affairs of our country.”

Salami suggested that Iran had overcome “all conspiracies and malice” over the years, with the enemy’s “cruel sanctions” inspiring “self-confidence and reliance on internal capacities.”

Iran’s Maritime Might

Iran’s Navy, Revolutionary Guard Navy, and missile forces have caused headaches for the military planners of potential adversaries working on conflict scenarios in the Persian Gulf. While the Islamic Republic spends just a fraction of what the US and its regional allies do on defence (equivalent to about $15 billion in 2021), the country has managed to build up a missile and drone force consisting almost entirely of domestically-developed and produced equipment. The country’s Navy includes homegrown Fateh and Ghadir-class coastal and midget submarines, Moudge-class frigates, and a range of fast attack and patrol craft, along with hundreds of small speedboats operated mostly by the Revolutionary Guard Navy – which often mounts heavy machine guns or rocket launchers to them.

While the Navy has traditionally limited its operations to missions near Iran’s coast, as well as the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, it showed off its ocean-going capabilities this summer by sailing a Moudge-class frigate and the Makran forward base and support vessel around the world on a 45,000 km, 133-day trek which saw ships travel through the Indian Ocean, around Africa, along the coast of Europe, to Russia’s St. Petersburg, and back. The ships made it back home in September, with Iran’s military announcing that another Makran-style warship would be built to further expand Tehran’s long-range naval power.

Iran’s naval forces have expressed no hesitation in engaging in showdowns with US warships. Last week, Iranian media released footage showing a close encounter between IRGC forces and US warships which took place on 25 October, in which Iranian forces landed on the deck of a tanker that had allegedly seized an Iranian oil shipment, and navigated the vessel toward Iranian waters. The Pentagon denied ever trying to steal any Iranian oil and claimed that Iranian forces had actually taken over a Vietnamese-flagged tanker, the MV Sothys. Iran later revealed that oil had been transferred to the MV Sothys from a separate Iranian tanker carrying oil through the Sea of Oman. The MV Sothys was later released. Last week, IRGC Naval Force commander Alireza Tangsiri revealed that US warships, helicopters and drones had approached the area and “assumed battle formation” around the tanker while Iranian commandos carried out their operation.

۲. تصاویری از عملیات برخورد نیروی دریایی سپاه با ناوهای آمریکایی pic.twitter.com/MUt1oHHxqm

— خبرگزاری فارس (@FarsNews_Agency) November 3, 2021