Navy
The Iranian navy has always been the smallest of the three services, having about 14,500 personnel in 1986, down from 30,000 in 1979. Throughout the 1970s, the role of the navy had expanded as Iran recognized the need to defend the region's vital sea-lanes. In 1977 the bulk of the fleet was shifted from Khorramshahr to the newly completed base at Bandar-e Abbas, the new naval headquarters. Bushehr was the other main base; smaller facilities were located at Khorramshahr, Khark Island, and Bandar-e Khomeini (formerly known as Bandar-e Shahpur). Bandar-e Anzelli (formerly known as Bandar-e Pahlavi) was the major training base and home of the small Caspian fleet, which consisted of a few patrol boats and a minesweeper. The naval base at Bandar Beheshti (formerly known as Chah Bahar) on the Gulf of Oman had been under construction since the late 1970s and in late 1987 still was not completed. Smaller facilities were located near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian naval operations are organzied into five major zones, three on the Persian Gulf (Bandar Abbas, Bushehr and Khark), one on the Caspian Sea (Bandar Anzali), and one on the Indian Ocean (Chah Bahar). Bandar Abbas is the main Iranian naval base, providing a home for the main components of Iran's navy (its frigates and destroyers), as well as functioning as the navy's main ship repair yard. Bandar Anzali has become increasingly important, having minesweeping and full coastal water defence capabilities. Nou Shahr, also on the Caspian, is increasingly important, housing the Iranian naval academy.
The Navy's airborne component, including an antisubmarine warfare (ASW) and minesweeping helicopter squadron and a transport battalion, continued to operate in 1986 despite wartime losses. Of six P-3F Orion antisubmarine aircraft, perhaps two remained operational, and of twenty SH-3D ASW helicopters, possibly only ten were airworthy. Despite overall losses, the navy increased the number of its marine battalions from two to three between 1979 and 1986.
Entirely of foreign origin, Iran's naval fleet suffered major losses since the beginning of the war with Iraq, when it was made up of American- and British-made destroyers and frigates, and some sixty smaller vessels and one of the largest Hovercraft fleets in the world. The Hovercraft had been expressly chosen to operate in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf and proved useful in the 1971 occupation of Abu Musa and the Tunbs. After the cancellation of foreign orders in 1979, the rapid matériel advance of the navy was halted. For example, the shah's government had ordered six Spruance-class destroyers equipped for antiaircraft operations and three diesel-powered Tang-class submarines from the United States. Washington canceled the sale of these vessels, selling the submarines to Turkey and absorbing the destroyers into the United States Navy. In 1979 Khomeini also canceled an order for six type-209 submarines from West Germany.
What naval vessels remained in 1987 suffered from two major problems -- lack of maintenance and lack of spare parts. After the departure of British-United States maintenance teams, the Iranian navy conducted only limited repairs, despite the availability of a completed Fleet Maintenance Unit at Bandar-e Abbas; consequently, several ships were laid up. Lack of spare parts also plagued the navy more than other services, because Western naval equipment was less widely available on world arms markets than other equipment.
The Iranian Navy is putting in place a multi-layered framework comprised of conventional and asymmetrical subsurface, surface, and airborne systems which can impact open access to Arabian Gulf shipping lanes.
Iran's ambitious plans for escort and patrol capabilities in the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean may not be realized until the Bandar Beheshti naval facility is completed. The country's interest in navigation through the Strait of Hormuz has not diminished, as the contemplated deployment of Chinese-made Silkworm HY-2 surface-to-surface missiles on Larak Island in 1987 clearly indicated. This development underscored Iran's interest in Gulf waters and the navy's role, along with that of Pasdaran units, in protecting them or in denying them to others.
In 1992, Iran and China negotiated a deal for Iran to recieve a fleet of 70-ton Chinese patrol boats with Styx antiship missles. In 1993, Iran bought two Russian Kilo-class submarines and eight mini-submarines from North Korea. All done in an effort to rebuild after the Navy was nearly destoyed after the Islamic Revolution, Iran continued to purchase foreign weapons systems.
Iranian naval forces held several exercises in early 2001 to improve their capabilities and also have had exchange visits with Pakistan and India. As a result, defense officials have called for the consolidation of Iran's commercial and military fleets to increase their strengths, overcome any weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and address future threats. Iranian naval forces held the three-day Fath-9 exercises in the northern end of the Persian Gulf in Mahshahr during the first week of March 2001. These exercises involved 6,000 people from the regular navy and air force, the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps navy and aircorps, the Basij Resistance Forces, and the Law Enforcement Forces.
In July 2002 a conventional-arms sale triggered sanctions on several Chinese companies. Beijing had transfered high-speed catamaran missile patrol boats to Iran. The C-14 patrol boats are outfitted with anti-ship cruise missiles. Short-range anti-ship missiles for the patrol boats also were sold from China to Iran in January 2002. The catamaran and anti-ship missile sales were first disclosed by The Washington Times in May 2002, shortly after the first of the new C-14 patrol boats was observed by US military intelligence at an Iranian port. The high-speed gunboat can carry up to eight C-701 anti-ship cruise missiles, and usually have one gun. There have also been reports of Iran possesing another type of anti-ship system. Up to 16 Sunburst anti-ship missile systems were traded in the early 1990's from the Ukraine.
Fifteen semisubmersible gunboats used in special operations have been sent to Iran from North Korea, "The Washington Times" reported on 16 December 2002. The boats were shipped aboard an Iranian freighter. U.S. intelligence officials expressed concern that Iran could use the gunboats to threaten U.S. ships in the region. In an indication of Iran's willingness to use the means at its disposal, Multinational Interdiction Force deputy coordinator Commander Nick Chatwin of the British Navy in a 16 December Reuters report displayed a photograph of an oil tanker with a hole in it that was created by a rocket-propelled grenade launched from an Iranian naval vessel.
As of 2001 the regular Iranian navy was in a state of overall obsolescence, and in poor shape because they have not been equipped with modern ships and weapons. Iran's three destroyers are over 50 years old and are not operational. The readiness of the three 25-year-old frigates is almost non-existent, and the two 30-year-old corvettes do not have sophisticated weapons. Ten of 20 missile-equipped fast attack craft have limited operational readiness, and four of them are not seaworthy as of 2001. Only 10 Chinese-made Thodor-class craft are operationally reliable. The four 30-year-old minesweepers are obsolete, lack seaworthiness, and do not have a mine-sweeping capability. Iran has many amphibious and auxiliary ships, but these are superfluous to requirements and are used purely for training personnel. Iran's ten hovercraft are old and used sparingly.
Iran's navy has 20,000 men, but they are young and inexperienced, and most of them are riflemen and marines based on Persian Gulf islands. And at higher levels, there is fierce rivalry between the IRGC and regular navies for scarce resources. Due to these shortcomings, Iran's three Kilo-class submarines would be vulnerable, and they are limited to laying mines in undefended waters. Mines, however, are one area in which Iran has made advances. It can produce non-magnetic, free-floating, and remote-controlled mines. It may have taken delivery of pressure, acoustic, and magnetic mines from Russia. Also, Iran is negotiating with China for rocket-propelled rising mines.
Iranian officials announced in September 2000 that the first of a planned trio of "1,000-ton," missile-equipped "destroyers" would be launched shortly, but there has been no subsequent announcement of the event. The locally designed vessels are said to be 289 feet long, and their machinery, electronics, and weapon systems, along with much other equipment, would have to have been imported.
In mid-2001 Iran launched the first of a new type of locally built craft equipped with "rocket launchers," according to Tehran Radio, which noted that the ship had been delivered to the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) by the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. The same ceremony, presided over by Defense Minister Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, saw the launch of two Barak-class oilers, of 1,000 tons capacity, and one Karbala-class tank landing ship (LST). All were designed and built by the Defense Ministry's naval industry department. The landing ship is one of three Hormuz 21-type LSTs, and may be the one launched at Boushehr in 1997. It is not clear from published sources what type of oilers were launched--the same is true of the missile craft. The new craft could be one of the reported trio of 1,200-ton corvettes under construction at Bandar Abbas.
In January 2003 it was reported that the Iranian Navy had designed advanced gunboats and destroyers and missile launcher frigates in line with the goal of attaining self-sufficiency in the armed forces. Executive works on building the 350-ton missile launcher frigate 'Sina' will start in the next two months. The Navy would launch the 1400-ton 'Mouj Destroyer' by March 20, 2003.
In January 2003 a report in the World Tech Tribune indicated that the Iranian Navy would launch a missile frigate in March 2003. The frigate was identified as Sina 1.
In January 2003 a report in the World Tech Tribune indicated that Iranian officials stated that a destroyer will also be introduced over time. The destroyer, the Mowj, is being constructed and should be completed sometime after the launch of Sina 1.
