Iran Navy to Launch New Frigate in Caspian Sea

Iranian Navy will launch a new frigate in the Caspian Sea on Sunday. IRIS Jamaran 2 has a displacement of approximately 1,420 tons and a top speed of 30 knots with a crew of 120. The frigate is equipped with a stern mounted helipad. The vessel’s sister ship, IRIS Jamaran (76), was launched in February 2010 in the Persian Gulf.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will preside over the launch ceremony.

File Photo: Iran navy IRIS Jamaran (76) frigate (Fars News Agency)

Iran Warships Dock in Port Sudan

Iran’s 23^rd Fleet warships, IRIS Jamaran (76), a guided missile frigate and IRIS Bushehr (422), a replenishment ship, docked in Port Sudan today, making the second port call by the Iranian navy in Sudan in five days. A Sudanese navy spokesman said the visit was a normal port call. In a welcoming ceremony, Rear Admiral Abdullah al-Matri of Sudan called for “further expansion of military ties between Iran and Sudan.” (Fars News Agency/Press TV, 8 December)

Israel and the GCC are following the visit closely. Israel has expressed concerns of Iranian arms shipment to militant groups in Gaza through Sudan.

The GCC, particularly the Saudis, have their own concerns of closer ties between Tehran and Khartoum. After South Sudan broke away to become independent last year, Sudan lost three quarters of its oil production and began seeking bolstering its ties with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states in the Persian Gulf. Gulf states are now among the biggest investors in the country and have just funded a large sugar plant and Sudan's only shopping mall. But the close ties with Tehran, manifested today by Iranian navy’s port call, could make it difficult for Khartoum to expand its relations with the Gulf Arab states.

File photo: Guided Missile Frigate IRIR Jamaran (76) [Hamed Jafarnejad/Fars News Agency]