IRGC Holds Naval Drill Near Strait of Hormuz

Close to U.S.-led International Mines Countermeasure Exercise

IRGC Naval Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said on Monday that Iran has test-fired four missiles designed to hit warships during a drill near the Strait of Hormuz. Adm. Fadavi added that the missiles were fired simultaneously at a warship-sized target and sank it within 50 seconds.

"We have missile systems that cover all the Persian Gulf coasts and the American bases (in the region)," Admiral Fadavi said. (Fars News Agency)

The IRGC missile drill took place simultaneously and close to U.S.-led International Mines Countermeasure Exercise (IMCMEX) in the Persian Gulf that began on Sunday 16 September and runs through 27 September.

On 18 September, Iran had held a minelaying exercise, but that drill was conducted at the Caspian Sea across the country from the Persian Gulf.

Iran Will Retaliate Against U.S. if Israel Strikes - IRGC

IRGC navy Commander Brig. Gen. Ali Fadavi told the semi-official Fars News Agency today that Iran makes no distinction between U.S. and Israeli interests and will retaliate against both countries if attacked.

"The Zionist regime separated from America has no meaning, and we must not recognize Israel as separate from America," said Gen. Fadavi. "On this basis, today only the Americans have taken a threatening stance towards the Islamic Republic," he said. "If the Americans commit the smallest folly they will not leave the region safely." (Fars News Agency/Reuters, 5 September)

Fadavi’s comments came after the White House denied an Israeli news report that it was negotiating with Tehran to keep out of a future Israel-Iran war.

Great Prophet 5 Maneuvers (4)

IRGC Air Assault exercise: Straight of Hormuz

click photos to enlarge

IRGCAF Mil Mi-17-1 transporting IRGC light infantry

Troop insertion at the Tactical Landing Zone (TLZ)

Mil Mi-17-1 liftoff away from the TLZ

Defensive position atop a berm:

LMGs, MMG and RPGs.

IRGC light infantry armed with KLS (AKM) assault rifles

MMG instruction in the field

An IRGC Colonel (Sarhang) serves as MMG loader

IRGC motorized scouts

Photos: Fars News Agency and Mehr News Agency

Great Prophet 5 Maneuvers (2)

click photos to enlarge

IRGCN patrol boats armed with 107 mm (x11) MRLS and bow mounted MGD-12.7 (DShK) heavy machine gun (HMG).

Attack wave of of RIB-33 based patrol boats

armed with 107 mm (x11) MRLS

107 mm rocket fire

Practice target vessel is ex-Iraq Navy Polnocny class

amphibious assault ship

Multiple hits scored by attacking patrol boat formation

Surveying the damage inflicted on the wrecked target vessel

Aftermath. Note multiple penetration of the

hull by 107 mm AP rounds

Below: IRIS (IRGCN) P313-2 Nasr Thondar class missile craft

Above: IRGC(N) Air Force Mil Mi-17-1(Sh) helicopter

Photos: Mahdi Marizad at Fars News Agency

Britons Released

Iran has released five British nationals who were detained by IRGC Navy after their yacht strayed into Iranian territorial waters off Siri Island in the Persian Gulf.

IRGC, which made the announcement, said the five entered the Iranian waters by mistake [IRIB, 2 December].

“They gave the necessary commitments and were freed afterwards,” the IRGC statement said.

IRGC Confirms Arrest of British Nationals

Five Britons were detained on board the race yacht pictured above

BBC photo

Brigadier Ali reza Tangsiri, Commander of IRGC Naval Force,

confirming detention of British nationals

Fars photo

IRGC's Naval Commander Brigadier Ali Reza Tangsiri today confirmed the detention of several British nationals after their racing yacht strayed into Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.

The British Foreign Office had earlier announced that Iranian authorities had detained five Britons on board of a race yacht on Wednesday 25 November. The yacht, belonging to Bahrain Yacht Club, had left the island heading for Dubai. The Foreign Office said the yacht might have entered the Iranian waters by mistake.

The authorities have for now charged the Britons with illegal entry into Iran. The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said in Tehran today that the security forces are investigating the incident.

Commanders of the Islamic Republic - 9/09

(Click photo to enlarge)

Left to right:
- Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari (Commander of the Navy)
- Brigadier General Hassan Shah-Safi (Commander of the Air Force)
- Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani (Commander of Air Defense)
- Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan (Commander of the Ground Force)
- Major General Ataollah Salehi (Commander-in-Chief of the Army)
- Major General Hassan Firouzabadi (Head of the Armed Forces General Command Headquarters)
- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Civilian Head of State)
- Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari (Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC)
- Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi (Senior Advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution)
- Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi (Defense Minister)
- Rear Admiral Morteza Saffari (Commander of IRGC Navy)
- Brigadier General Hossein Salami (Commander of IRGC Air Force)

Commanders present at the Sacred Defense Parade in Tehran, September 22, 2009 (31st Shahrivar 1388).

Basij naval reserves in time of war

From PressTV:

Iran has the capacity to triple its forces in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz in times of war, says a senior Basij official.

"Once a threat is perceived, naval forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) can instantaneously triple their presence (along the country's southern shores)," Hojjatoleslam Hossein Taeb, the commander of the Basij Resistance Force, told IRNA on Wednesday.

Basij, a volunteer-based Iranian paramilitary force, assists the country's armed forces in times of crisis.

According to Taeb, Basij forces have taken measures accordingly so that its forces can immediately assist the IRGC whenever deemed necessary.

Iran has tasked the IRGC with providing security in the strategic Strait of Hormuz as well as defending the country's Persian Gulf coast.

Taeb's announcement comes at a time that Iranian armed forces are preparing to counter a potential new military conflict in the region.

Abadan Naval and Marine Exhibition Pt. 2

Abadan Naval and Marine Exhibition Pt. 1

New Naval Base Part 2

From PressTV:

Iran's Navy Commander says the new naval base in the strategic port of Jask will be used to block the Strait of Hormuz in case of war.

In a Tuesday interview, Chief Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari said the presence of foreign forces near Iranian waters prompted the army to expand its strategic positions in the Sea of Oman.

"The newly-inaugurated naval base offers a new defensive front to the east of the Strait of Hormuz," said Rear Admiral Sayyari.

He stressed that the base would become an impenetrable barrier in the event of war, blocking the entry of enemy naval units into Persian Gulf waters.

Washington and Israel have threatened to strike the Islamic Republic, under the pretext of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

A US attack on the Syrian village of Sukkariyah on Monday, has raised speculation about the likelihood of a unilateral strike on the Islamic Republic.

Tehran has warned that in the event of war, it would not hesitate to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of the world's sea-transited crude oil passes.

In a Sep. 11 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy says that in the two decades since the Iran-Iraq War, the Islamic Republic has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.

According to the report, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy (IRGCN) has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force and is effectively in control of the world's oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz.

The study says that if Washington takes military action against the Islamic Republic, the scale of Iran's response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets.

IRGC Navy in Action (video)

IRGC Commanding Iran’s Defense of Persian Gulf

From PressTV:

Senior advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution says the responsibility of Persian Gulf defense has been handed over to the IRGC.

According to recent decisions, Iran's Army will take control of the Oman and Caspian Seas, said former commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi.

The former top military commander reiterated that IRGC missiles can hit any target across the width of the Persian Gulf and that all gunboats are within their range.

The senior official gave assurances that the Iranian armed forces, with advanced defense equipment, including missile resources and land and naval forces can control the Strait of Hormuz.

The Iranian military forces, comprised of the IRGC, army and Basij are completely prepared to confront any foreign threat against the country, he added.

The former top military commander played down Israel's military threats and ability to wage a war against Iran. “The Israeli regime lacks the necessary political, economic and social capabilities to enter a big war in the region,” Rahim-Savafi stated.

Also from Press TV:

An advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution says it is natural for Iran to feel threatened, as it is surrounded by insecurity.

"It is only natural for Iran to feel threatened and organize military exercises," Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi told Press TV on Tuesday.

The former Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) commander was referring to the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan and foreign military presence in the Persian Gulf.

Maj. Gen. Rahim-Safavi said the frequency of Iranian military maneuvers should not alarm neighboring countries, as they are lesser in number in comparison to military exercises carried out by supra-regional forces in the Middle East.

"We pose no threat to our neighbors. The military presence of certain Western countries in the region is the real cause for concern," he said.

Maj. Gen. Rahim-Safavi said unlike some regional states, namely the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which have spent billions of dollars on purchasing weapons from the US, Iran has not allocated extensive funds for this purpose.

The former IRGC commander added that a military pact between regional states is the only means of ensuring security in the Persian Gulf.

IRGC Navy Video of Holy Prophet III

IRGC and US Military Maneuvers in the Gulf

From PressTV:

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) have begun military maneuvers in the Persian Gulf, reports released by news agencies say.

The war games, called Payambar-e Azam 3 are conducted by missile units of the IRGC naval and air forces, Mehr and Fars news agencies reported.

The reports noted that the exercises early Tuesday morning are aimed at improving combat readiness and capability.

Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting:

The U.S. Navy said it was carrying out an exercise in the Gulf, days after vowing that Iran will not be allowed to block the waterway which carries crude from the world's largest oil-exporting region.

"The aim of Exercise Stake Net is to practice the tactics and procedures of protecting maritime infrastructure such as gas and oil installations," Commodore Peter Hudson said in a U.S. Fifth Fleet statement.

Two U.S. vessels were taking part in the exercise alongside a British warship and one from Bahrain, a Gulf Arab ally which hosts the Fifth Fleet. "Stake Net seeks to help ensure a lawful maritime order as well as improve relationships between regional partners," the fleet's statement said.

Iran Warns of Swarming Tactics, Hormuz Closure

IRGC Commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Alai Jafari said in Tehran today that if Iran is attacked, IRGC speed boats would use swarming tactics to sink enemy ships in the Persian Gulf. IRGC would also use advanced missiles to attack the ships, he said.

“Swarming tactics and operations of IRGC boats will not leave a chance for the enemies to run away,” Gen. Jafari said. “IRGC is also equipped with the most advanced missiles that can strike the enemies’ ships and naval equipment with fatal blows” [Fars News Agency, 5 July].

Earlier today, chairman of Iranian armed forces joint staff, Maj. Gen. Hassan Firouzabadi, renewed Iran’s threat to close down the Strait of Hormuz.

“All the countries should know that if Iran’s interests in the region are ignored, it is natural that we will not allow others to use the [Strait of Hormuz],” Gen. Firouzabadi said [Fars News Agency, 5 July].