Iran navy launches stealth warship in the Gulf

Note: Video available at the source.

 

DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s navy on Saturday launched a domestically made destroyer, which state media said has radar-evading stealth properties, as tensions rise with arch-enemy, the United States.

In a ceremony carried live on state television, the Sahand destroyer — which can sustain voyages lasting five months without resupply — joined Iran’s regular navy at a base in Bandar Abbas on the Gulf.

Iranian Presence in Mediterranean Sea Alarms Israel

 

‘Iranian ports in the eastern Mediterranean are a real risk for Israel.’

Israeli Adm. Shaul Chorev (Ret.) has warned that Israel’s next proxy war with Iran “could see a focus on the [Mediterranean] Sea.”

The Jerusalem Post quoted the retired naval officer on January 28 as cautioning that the strategy of Iran’s Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, clearly shows that “they will target Israeli strategic assets.” To do that, he said, they could use suicide vessels or land-to-sea missiles.

Iran “is on the verge of reaching the Mediterranean, including the use of Syrian ports by the Iranian Navy,” Chorev said. “Iranian ports in the eastern Mediterranean are a real risk for Israel.”

Iran and Gulf nations prepare for war. Sudden reshuffle in Iran’s top army, naval commands

 

 

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir on Monday, Nov. 6 accused Iran of an “act of war” in reference to the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi missile attack on Riyadh airport Saturday.

On Sunday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei secretly ordered a significant reshuffle in the high commands of the Iranian army and navy. Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Dadras was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff, with orders to boost the intelligence and operational preparedness of the Army. He came from the post of commander of ground forces.

Iranian Navy Arms Itself with ‘Smart’ Torpedoes

 

In late February, the Iranian Navy held the Velayat 95 naval exercises, during which the new Valfajr ‘smart’ torpedoes were tested, the Tehran Times newspaper reported.

Nuclear missiles tested in IRAN despite tough talking from Trump administration

Iranian defence minister Hossein Dehghan said nuclear missile tests were successful [Getty]

 

NUCLEAR MISSILE tests have been successfully carried out in Iran, according to the country’s defence minister.

The Iranian Navy test-fired its Nasr sea-launched cruise missile, Hossein Dehghan said.

Firing at set targets the Navy carried out its war games in the Perisan Gulf – in an area covering 2 million sq km.

Iran gains Mediterranean bases in Italy and Syria

 

As part of Iran’s drive to rule the strategic waves of regional waters, Tehran has negotiated a naval exchange deal with Rome for its warships to be berthed in Italian ports, debkafile’s military sources reveal.

In this context, the US Pentagon and Navy chiefs once again urged Israel to update and enlarge its war fleet, which they said was “full of holes” to catch up with the rapidly changing conditions opposite its shores, where Russia, Iran and Egypt are building up armadas of warships that are bigger and more advanced than ever before.

Iran forges ahead with Atlantic ambitions

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian Navy commander Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari announced June 14 that Iran is planning to establish a naval presence in the Atlantic Ocean. In conjunction with this statement, he said, “We have yet to determine which country will assist us regarding the presence of our naval fleet. When the name of the chosen country is confirmed and announced, our strategic naval forces will deploy a training and military flotilla to the Atlantic Ocean.”

Sayyari also made announcements about new developments related to the “Mowj” (“Wave”) project, saying that Mowj frigates 3 and 4 have yet to be named but are 80% complete in terms of their construction, and thus in operation. His most important announcement, however, was about the fifth frigate in this series, which according to Sayyari is 90% complete. This vessel, which is slated to be launched in 2017, has been named Sahand. According to Sayyari, the Sahand, which is the latest type of Iranian-made frigate, has 30% greater stealth capabilities compared to earlier models and is equipped with newer weapons.

Iranian navy announces 20 military drills over coming months

The Iranian Navy announced this week that it will conduct 20 military drills over the next nine months.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari made the announcement to reporters on Monday, saying that by March 2017, 20 war games will have been staged over the Iranian year (March 20, 2016 – March 20, 2017).

Sayyari said Iran’s territorial waters were “in full security” and that Iran’s defense capabilities were “so high that no enemy would dare to invade the territorial waters of Iran,” according to the Tasnim news agency.

Iranian Navy Fences Off US Warship Near Strait of Hormuz

trait oftrait of HMOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the Fars News, citing local military officials, after receiving the warning the US warship immediately left the zone of a large-scale naval war game, codenamed Velayat 94.

U.S. Carrier Harry S. Truman Has Close Call With Iranian Rockets

As the Truman was transiting the strait, which connects the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf, Iranian Revolutionary Guards conducted a live-fire exercise right near the U.S. carrier Saturday, officials said.

A U.S. military official said an Iranian navy fast and short attack craft began conducting a live-fire exercise at the same time the carrier was nearing the end of the strait, firing off several unguided rockets. A French frigate, the U.S. destroyer USS Buckley and other commercial traffic were also in the area.

Iran to send ‘fleet of warships’ to the Atlantic Ocean

Tehran’s navy chief says vessels will ‘soon berth’ at Atlantic ports

Iran intends to dispatch “a fleet of warships” to the Atlantic Ocean shortly, the semi-state Fars news agency reported Thursday, quoting the regime’s navy chief.

“Our warships will soon berth at ports in the Atlantic Ocean,” Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari promised at a ceremony on Wednesday marking the return to port of Iranian warships that Fars said had taken part in joint drills with the Russian navy.

Nuke Deal or Not, Iran Has Already Declared War on Us

• *U.S. policymakers who hope that the nuclear deal will help nudge the Islamic revolutionary state into becoming a normal member of the international community  seem to forget the past. Policymakers, journalists, and intelligence analysts had all predicted that the era of former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami was a  sure sign of the evolution of the revolution. Khatami was replaced by the even more hardline president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• *It seems clear that despite the American political establishment’s failure to recognize that a state of war already exists between Iran and the United States, the  Islamic Republic has no doubt with whom it is at war.

Iran has been at war with the “Great Satan” (USA) since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. Its opening move was the regime’s seizure of the American Embassy and its taking U.S. diplomats hostage for 444 days in 1979-1980. Technically, the move was an internationally recognized casus belli, legitimate cause for war.

US Navy Starts Accompanying British Ships Off Iranian Coast

The move comes after the United Kingdom asked for an escort for their ships, Army Col. Steve Warren said.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) —US warships have begun accompanying British merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, a Pentagon spokesman said Monday.

“They’ve asked if we would accompany their flagged vessels through the strait.”

Iran says warships at entrance to key Yemen strait

Tehran (AFP) – Two Iranian destroyers, sent to the Gulf of Aden to protect commercial ships, have reached the entrance of Bab el-Mandab, a strategic strait between Yemen and Djibouti, Iran’s navy said Thursday.

In another sign of tensions between Gulf rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, the Saudi charge d’affaires was summoned to the foreign ministry in Tehran to hear a “strong protest” over Saudi military action which prevented an Iranian plane from landing in Sanaa.

“We are present in the Gulf of Aden in accordance with international regulations to ensure the safety of commercial ships of our country against the threat of pirates,” said the head of the Iranian navy, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari, quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

Here’s Why Iran’s Seizure of a Cargo Ship Is So Odd, and Disturbing

So far, nothing terribly unusual. The IRGCN, assigned to patrol the Gulf, routinely sends boats to shadow — some call it “harass” — vessels of other nationalities as they transit the strait. Just three days ago, CNN reported, four IRGCN boats surrounded the U.S.-flagged Maersk Kensington in the Strait of Hormuz and followed it closely for some time. The U.S. Fifth Fleet subsequently issued a notice to mariners.What happened next to the MV Maersk Tigris, however, was quite out of the ordinary.

“The master was contacted and directed to proceed further into Iranian territorial waters,” said Warren. “He declined and one of the IRGCN craft fired shots across the bridge of the Maersk Tigris. The master complied with the Iranian demand and proceeded into Iranian waters in the vicinity of Larak Island.”