Shahid Nazeri / Harth 55

Iran's Revolutionary Guard on 13 September 2016 unveiled a new high-speed vessel the force said was capable of carrying a helicopter and up to 100 people. The US Office of Naval Intelligence designates this vessel as "Harth 55". The IRIN state TV showed a catamaran-type ship described as 55 meters (yards) long and 14 meters (yards) wide, carrying a light civilian helicopter, while the official IRNA news agency said its speed capability is 28 knots. The vessel was painted with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's call for U.S. forces to "Go back to the Bay of Pigs." In May, Khamenei criticized the U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf region in an apparent reference to the 1961 failed invasion of Cuba's Bay of Pigs by 1,500 CIA-trained exiles.

Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Second Naval Zone General Ali Razmjou announced that the IRGC Navy has launched a long-range high-speed vessel capable of carrying military helicopters. "Today, Shahid Nazeri speed vessel which can sail long journeys joined the IRGC Navy," General Razmjou told reporters in the Southern city of Bushehr. He said that the round-the-clock relentless efforts of the Iranian experts and engineers have paved the way for launching the state-of-the-art vessel with the capability to navigate in roaring waters as well as landing and taking off of the military helicopters which is another achievement for the defense sector.

He said that the round-the-clock relentless efforts of the Iranian experts and engineers paved the way for launching the state-of-the-art vessel with the capability to navigate in roaring waters as well as landing and taking off of the military helicopters which is another achievement for the defense sector. "The IRGC Navy has always made advancements and made valuable successes and under the current conditions it has made the Islamic Republic of Iran stronger by making use of modern technology and equipment as well as high missile, defense and deterrence power," General Razmjou added.