Sputnik
Fresh off successes in normalizing ties with Saudi Arabia and joining the BRICS bloc, Tehran has sought to avoid becoming ensnared in a direct conflict with the US and Israel over Gaza. But the escalation of tensions in the Red Sea between Yemen’s Houthis and a new US ‘coalition of the willing’ may provide neocons with a new excuse to target Iran.
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.
The deliveries included the Talayieh – a strategic smart cruise missile with a 1,000+ km range and the ability to switch targets mid-flight. The Navy also received the Nasir – a short-range cruise missile with a range of over 100 km and a 130 kg warhead featuring an active radar guidance system.
The military branch also took delivery of a new batch of helicopters, including light reconnaissance choppers and helicopters equipped with optical and intelligence gathering systems and a brand new indigenous electronic warfare platform with an Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system and the capability to deceive and defeat enemy missiles.
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.
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