"Today, we are facing an all-out battle with the enemy," said Guards commander Hossein Salami at a ceremony in the southern Gulf port city of Bandar Abbas, where the Guards' navy unveiled a new ship named "Abu Mahdi" and 100 missile launchers.
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Major General Hossein Salami speaks during a meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran August 17, 2023. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS/File Photo
- The Houthi attacks since November are a show of support for the Palestinian group Hamas in its war with Israel.
- In response, many major shipping companies have switched to the longer and more costly route around the Africa's Cape of Good Hope rather than pass through the Suez Canal, which handles about 12% of global trade.
"We need to defend our national interests to wherever they extend," Salami said in a televised speech. "It will be harmful for the enemy to be found near and at a half distant. They should stay away from this area."
The Guards’ navy, he said, had made a "brilliant leap in its offensive and defensive powers" to challenge the world’s naval powers.
According to Iranian media, Iran’s Alborz warship entered the Red Sea earlier this month to secure shipping routes.
29 DECEMBER 2023
Very-long-range anti-ship missile enters service with Iranian navy
by Jeremy Binnie
The Talaiyeh long-range anti-ship missile is seen next to its launcher during the ceremony at Konarak naval base. (defapress.ir)
The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) held a ceremony on 24 December to induct new equipment that included an anti-ship missile called the Talaiyeh, which is said to have a range of more than 1,000 km.
Iranian media coverage showed a Talaiyeh on display next to a mobile launcher at the naval base in Konarak, the headquarters of the IRIN's third region. It appeared to be the same type of missile as the one unveiled in August 2020, the Abu Mahdi, which is presumed to be the anti-ship variant of the long-range land-attack cruise missiles Iran has developed from the Soviet Kh-55s it is known to have obtained.
The Abu Mahdi was officially inducted into service by both the IRIN and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) in July 2023, when several were displayed during a ceremony.
A poster displayed next to the Talaiyeh during the Konarak event appeared to say the missile has a cruise speed of Mach 0.78 and a range of 1,000 km when flying at an altitude of 2,000 m. IRIN Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani was quoted as saying the missile can be retargeted during flight.
The IRIN also announced that it had received its first Nasir anti-ship missiles. Unveiled in April 2017, when the first batch was handed over to the IRGCN, the Nasir looks similar to the Nasr, which is a copy of the Chinese C-704, but has both a booster and a turbojet engine instead of a single solid-fuel motor, increasing its range to a claimed 90 km.
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