Velayat-90 Military Maneuvers (6)

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Sailors equipped with Iranian made G3 battle rifles

IRINS Gorz (PGGF 228) Kaman (Combattante II) class fast attack craft-missile

Foreground: Hendijan class tender (PBO 1410)

Bayandor (PF 103) class corvette

IRINS Larak (LSLH 512) Hengam class landing ship

IRINS Jamaran (FFGH 76) Moudge class light frigate

with IRINA Agusta AB-212ASW helicopter

Background: Alvand (Vosper Mk 5) class light frigate (FFG)

Ghadir class coastal submarine (SSC)

IRINS Kharg (AORH 431) Kharg class replenishment ship

Background: Delvar class support ship

IRINS Bandar Abbas (AORLH 421) Bandar Abbas class fleet supply ship

Yunes (Kilo/Project 877) class (SSK) diesel-electric submarine

IRINS Jamaran followed by two Alvand class light frigates

Background: IRINS Azadi (PB 202) Kaivan class large patrol boat

Regional foreign military observers, left to right: Syrian brigadier general and commodore

Photos: Hamed Jafarnejad at Fars News Agency

Velayat-90 Military Maneuvers (2)

Day 2: Video

Day 3: Video

YouTube Videos by maydayfore @ IMF

Tactical stage begins for joint IRIN/IRGCN maneuvers:

According to Mehr News Agency:

TEHRAN, Dec. 27 (MNA) – The tactical stage of the 10-day naval war games, entitled Velayat-90, started on Tuesday, the commander of the Navy told IRNA.
Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari also pointed to the preliminary stage of the war games and said, “Achievements were beyond imagination.”

During the preliminary stage of the maneuvers, Iranian warships, submarines, and other naval vessels spread out across the theaters of operations, which cover a wide area from the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Aden. The deployment of naval units was carried out as naval vessels and helicopters practiced military tactics in preparation for the main stage of the war games.

“We supposed that forces needed more time to spread out across the areas of operations,” Sayyari said, adding that the units, however, acted with speed and efficiency, and “artillery, intelligence, missile, electronic warfare, and other units managed to position themselves in the designated locations sooner than expected.”

The deputy commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Gholam Reza Khadem-Bigham, also said on Tuesday that during the tactical stage of the maneuvers, the theater of war will be simulated, and naval forces will practice various military tactics.

In this stage, forces will be divided into two groups, namely friendly forces and mock enemy forces, he said.

“Enemy forces, in this stage, should try to enter (the area under the control of) friendly forces, and in response, friendly forces should try to identify and destroy the forces that have the intention of penetrating (into the area),” he explained.

The war games, which started on Saturday, are said to differ from previous ones in terms of the vastness of the area of action and the military equipment and tactics that are being employed.

It has been announced that submarines of the Ghadir class and other classes, warships, missile-firing destroyers, coast-to-sea missile systems, drones, and electronic warfare equipment will be tested during the exercises.

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, said on December 22 that the war games would be staged in a large area from the east side of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman to the northern Indian Ocean, adding that in terms of intelligence, the maneuvers would cover a vast area stretching from the northern Indian Ocean to the Gulf of Aden.

Iran's potential response to USN shipping interdiction

By Mark Pyruz

IRIS Jamaran (76) and IRIS Alborz (72)

At his latest press conference, President Ahmadinejad today warned that any inspections of its ships related to sanctions could provoke a response by the Islamic Republic of Iran.

"If they make the slightest mistake we will definitely respond," Ahmadinejad said.

Some observers have criticized Iran's naval forces for being relatively weak in overall strength, particularly when compared to the US Navy Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf waters. They also point out Iran's naval forces are less than state of the art. But these naval forces, while relatively small and somewhat under-equipped, are adequately suited for selectively targeted merchant shipping interdiction, including boarding, inspection and search of a ship at sea; second, taking measures including any combination of arresting the vessel, arresting persons aboard or seizing cargo.

Naval vessels and armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) in the Persian Gulf, are able to conduct such operations. These include the Alvand class frigates, Moudge class frigate and Thondar class missile crafts.

Lineup of four IRGCN Thondar class missile craft

Of course, such actions are extremely risky for the Islamic Republic, as escalation could quickly follow. However, the same risks apply to the United States, which could lead to a cascading of events resulting in the breakout of open hostilities. Just the temporary stoppage or seizure of a merchant ship by Iranian naval forces, alone, particularly near the Straight of Hormuz, could lead to a dramatic spike in shipping insurance rates and the price of crude oil. It would likely even prompt some form of active USN escort coverage.

The previous round of sanctions technically called for a potential inspection regimen of "suspected" Iranian related shipping, but it was not acted upon in a meaningful or provocative manner. The ball is again in the court of the United States, on whether or not we'll see such a turn of events associated with this latest round of sanctioning.

Trio of Kaman class (Combattante IIB type) missile boats

Velayat-89 Military Maneuvers (8)

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Commander-in-Chief of the Army Major General Salehi (right) tours a Noor SSM mobile launcher site.

Noor (C-802) SSM mobile launcher in action

IRIS Alborz (72), Alvand class (Vosper Mk 5 type) frigate

firing a Noor (C-802) AShM

IRIS Jamaran (76), Mowj class frigate

IRIS Kharg (431), Kharg class replenishment ship

serving as forward observation vessel

Helmsman on the bridge of the IRIS Kharg

Regional foreign military delegations: Iran's Minister of Defense Brigadier General Vahidi flanked by an Iraq Navy Rear Admiral (Liwa) and Commodore (Amid). Qatari and Omani military personnel are visible in the background.

Minister of Defense Brigadier General Vahidi shakes hands

with an Oman Navy Captain (Aqid)

Photos:

-Hossein Zohrevand, Hossein Mosavi-Faraz, Hamid Reza Niko-Maram at Fars News Agency

-Yunos Khani at Mehr News Agency

-Rooholla Vahdati at Iranian Students News Agency