Iran’s Navy took delivery of an array of new equipment Sunday designed to shore up its capabilities against potential foreign aggression.
Iran’s Jamaran destroyer was fitted out with Sanjar smart loitering munitions.
The Navy also received an unspecified multipurpose drone-based electronic warfare system (possibly a reference to the Kaman-19 EW drone unveiled in October), a diver detection system, a new surface-to-surface missile system and the Sirvan – a new tug.
Iran has made dramatic strides in advanced military technologies ranging from radars to electronic warfare and drones thanks to a strong emphasis on a homegrown defense electronics base. This has enabled the Islamic Republic to tango toe to toe with much larger and more powerful adversaries, including the United States. In April, for example, officials revealed that Iran had gained the ability to detect the radar signature of individual F-35 fighter jets, and detect US nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines attempting to sail covertly near the Middle Eastern nation’s shores. In June, Iran joined the hypersonic club after unveiling the maneuverable Fattah missile. In August, Iranian scientists reportedly attained the technical knowhow to manufacture a highly advanced ramjet-powered cruise missile.
Tehran will need every ounce of domestic deterrent capability it can muster in the coming days and weeks as the ongoing Gaza crisis now threatens to mushroom into a large-scale regional conflagration. Washington and Tel Aviv have so far proven unable to drag the Islamic Republic into a Gaza crisis directly, but the storm clouds of a potential conflict have been gathering lately amid the Houthi militia’s relentless campaign of hijackings, missiles and drone attacks against Israeli-owned or affiliated cargo ships attempting to traverse the Yemen-adjacent waters of the Red Sea.
The US responded to the Red Sea chaos by announcing a new ‘coalition of the willing’-style alliance to mount Operation Prosperity Guardian, with a handful of US allies committing warships to the mission but others including France and Italy refusing to join for reasons which remain unclear.
On Saturday, the Houthis escalated the reach of their anti-shipping operations, targeting a tanker off the coast of India with a drone.
The US, which has already claimed recently that Iran is “deeply involved” in planning the Houthi attacks, immediately blamed Tehran for the Indian Ocean strike, going so far as to allege that the UAV was launched from Iranian territory.
Iranian officials haven’t shied away from expressing solidarity with the Houthis in their struggle against US imperialism and Israel. However, they’ve adamantly denied any direct military support for the Yemeni militia, with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian calling such claims “baseless” on Saturday.
Amir-Abdollahian went on to blast the US’s nascent naval coalition in the Red Sea. “There’s no need for a coalition. They stop supporting the murderous Israeli regime and they will see a safer region and a better situation even for the transfer of energy,” the foreign minister said.