Groups, Institutions, Organiza
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy
Written by: Mohsen Shirmuhammad,
Translated by: Hadi Qorbanyar
18 دورہ
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy was officially founded on September 17, 1985, following an order by Imam Khomeini (ra) to form the IRGC’s three main branches.
Since late 1980, the IRGC naval units had already begun limited operations in Bushehr and Bandar Abbas. In 1982, the IRGC established the Nouh Nabi (pbuh) Headquarters based in Bushehr to back amphibious operations during the Iran-Iraq War and organize the local naval units. Subsequently, on March 3, 1984, the IRGC naval units participated in troop deployment and medical evacuation during Operation Kheibar (capturing Majnoon islands). This was also the case with Operation Badr (March 1985).[1]
By 1985, the IRGC naval units expanded their presence in the Persian Gulf, taking responsibility for part of the defense of Kharg Island.[2]
On September 17, 1985, by official decree of Imam Khomeini (ra), the IRGC formally established its naval branch.[3]
A number of experienced local personnel from port cities along the Persian Gulf were sent to the Netherlands for maritime training. After completing the courses, they returned to Iran by sea aboard the same ships purchased for the IRGC Navy, allowing them to apply their skills in practice.[4]
Naval radar systems were purchased from Germany, with a range of 48 miles (77 kilometers) for boats and 96 miles (154 kilometers) for coastal bases.[5]
Through reverse engineering of captured Iraqi mines—originally of Russian manufacture—the IRGC developed its own naval mines, with production and deployment supported by the Ministry of Industries.[6]
Three naval commands were formed with headquarters in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, and Mahshahr, tasked with defending the islands of the Persian Gulf.[7]
During Operation Valfajr 8 (the capture of Al-Faw in February 1986), the IRGC Navy provided crucial support to the IRGC Ground Forces. In this operation, the commander of the IRGC Navy (Hussain Alaei) served as the commander of the Nouh (pbuh) Headquarters on the southern axis, while naval vessels were responsible for transporting ammunition and supplies.[8] Operation Valfajr 8 at Khor Abdullah marked the first naval engagement of the IRGC Navy during which its forces successfully destroyed Iraqi gunboats and vessels.[9]
In September 1986, when Operation Karbala 3 was underway, the IRGC Navy, supported by combat divers from the IRGC Imam Hussain (as) Division, successfully captured the Al-Amiyah Pier in the northern Persian Gulf. Then, the enemy equipment was seized, and the IRGC forces returned to their original positions after laying naval mines in Khor Abdullah. In this operation, 63 Iraqi troops were killed, two aircraft were destroyed, one OZA gunboat and two radar systems were neutralized, and twelve anti-aircraft guns, along with four radar units, were captured.[10]
By early 1987, the IRGC Navy had been equipped with many small boats that were difficult to detect by radar. These vessels were armed with fast missiles, machine guns, light weapons, and 107-mm artillery. About 40 to 50 fast 13-meter boats from the Swedish company Boghammar were purchased in 1985, of which 29 were operational. These boats could carry six crew members and over 500 kilograms of armament up to approximately 500 nautical miles at a maximum speed of 67 knots (124 km/h). The IRGC Navy also had several crane-equipped ships, which were hard to distinguish from commercial vessels and capable of transporting up to 350 tons of ammunition, including naval mines.[11] Furthermore, some amphibious boats and small vessels were borrowed from the Iranian Army Navy.
The IRGC Navy deployed forces in several islands and offshore oil platforms, with main concentration areas on Farsi, Siri, Halo, Abu Musa, Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Larak islands.[12]
As Iraqi attacks on shipping in the Persian Gulf intensified, Iran—preparing to enforce its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz—purchased the Silkworm missile system from China in early 1986.[13] In 1986, fifty IRGC naval personnel were sent to China for training on the Silkworm missile system. After returning to Iran, they established two dedicated missile brigades,[14] which joined the First Naval District of the IRGC and were deployed in Sirik along the eastern coast of the Strait of Hormuz. At the time, Iran had between 50 and 70 Silkworm missiles and 12 launch platforms.[15] On December 15, 1986, the first coastal-to-sea missile was fired by the IRGC Navy against Al-Bakr Pier.[16] This marked the turning point in the IRGC Navy’s operational activity, showing its capability in direct maritime confrontation with Iraqi forces.[17]
The IRGC Navy expanded its deployment on Farsi, Abu Musa, and the Greater and Lesser Tunb islands, with troop numbers rising to approximately one thousand. It also turned Iran’s offshore oil platforms into military bases.[18]
From early 1986, the IRGC Navy began engaging in retaliatory operations in the Persian Gulf (during the Tanker War)[19] and, by 1987, expanded these operations towards the Strait of Hormuz. On July 24, 1987, the supertanker Bridgeton (carrying Kuwaiti oil) was targeted by naval mines in the Persian Gulf, and subsequently, the Al-Ahmadi and Shuaiba piers in Kuwait—due to the country’s support for Iraq—were hit by Iranian Silkworm missiles.[20]
During retaliatory operations, the IRGC Navy targeted 55 ships.[21] Most of these attacks were launched from Farsi Island using fast boats. The attacks were meticulously planned: tanker identities and destinations were tracked overnight, and strikes were carried out within hours.[22] Farsi Island, the closest Iranian island to the international shipping lane, served as the main base for the IRGC Navy’s strongest retaliatory group, commanded by Nader Mahdavi (martyred).[23]
On October 8, 1987, U.S. helicopters launched an attack on IRGC Navy vessels near Farsi Island, resulting in the martyrdom of eight personnel, the capture of six others, and the sinking of four Iranian boats.[24] One U.S. helicopter was destroyed by a Stinger missile as Iran had reportedly obtained six such missiles through Afghan Muslim Mujahideen.[25] Nader Mahdavi[26] is remembered as one of the most prominent martyrs of the IRGC Navy in the Iran-Iraq War, who was martyred during clashes with U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf.[27]
After the end of the war, new armaments, such as fast Hudong boats and C-802 and C-701 naval missiles, were added to the IRGC Navy’s combat capabilities. Since 1999, the IRGC Navy has taken the responsibility for securing the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. The Persian Gulf is divided into five separate zones, each with its own naval district. Currently, the IRGC Navy operates in five areas: surface vessels, missile units, special operations, naval aviation, and drones.
Hussain Alaei was the first commander of the IRGC Navy. In 1990, Ali Shamkhani assumed command of both the IRGC Navy and the Iranian Army Navy. Subsequent commanders included Ali-Akbar Ahmadian, Morteza Safari, and Ali Fadavi. The current commander of the IRGC Navy is Rear Admiral Ali-Reza Tangesiri.[28]
[1] Niroo-ye Daryayi-ye Sepah Chegooneh Tashkil Shod? (How Was the IRGC Navy Formed?), Khabargozari-ye Defa Muqaddas, 26 Shahrivar 1399, www.defapress.ir/fa/news/416066/
[2] Shiralinia, Jafar, Mowj-e Sorkh: Revayat-e Jang dar Khalij-e Fars (Red Wave: A Narrative of War in the Persian Gulf), Tehran, Fatehan, 1391, p. 73.
[3] Alaei, Hussain, Ravand-e Jang-e Iran va Araq (The Course of the Iran-Iraq War), Vol. 2, Tehran, Marz-o-Boom, 1391, p. 130.
[4] Ibid., p. 73.
[5] Khodaverdi, Mahdi, Etkhaz-e Model-e Chaharboedi dar Amaliyat-haye Niroo-ye Daryayi-ye Sepah-e Pasdaran, Tarikh-e Shafahi-ye Sardar Dr. Hussain Alaei (Adoption of a Four-Dimensional Model in IRGC Naval Operations, Oral History of Brigadier General Dr. Hussein Alaei), Faslname-ye Negin, No. 50, Paeez 1393, p. 85.
[6] Shiralinia, Jafar, Ibid., p. 74.
[7] Khodaverdi, Mehdi, Ibid., p. 80.
[8] Shiralinia, Jafar, Ibid., p. 78.
[9] Ibid., p. 79.
[10] Alaei, Hussain, Ibid., Pp. 255–257.
[11] Cordesman, Anthony and Abraham Wagner, Dars-haye Jang-e Modern, Jang-e Iran va Araq (Lessons of Modern War: The Iran-Iraq War), Vol. 2, Trans. Hussain Yekta, Nashr-e Marz-o-Boom, 1390, p. 58.
[12] Shiralinia, Jafar, Ibid., p. 74.
[13] Alaei, Hussain, Ibid., p. 276.
[14] Cordesman, Anthony and Abraham Wagner, Ibid., p. 166.
[15] Ibid., p. 141.
[16] Alaei, Hussain, Ibid., p. 277.
[17] Shiralinia, Jafar, Ibid., p. 75.
[18] Cordesman, Anthony and Abraham Wagner, Ibid., p. 61.
[19] Alaei, Hussain, Ibid., p. 331.
[20] Niroo-ye Daryayi-ye Sepah Chegooneh Tashkil Shod? (How Was the IRGC Navy Formed?), Khabargozari-ye Defa Muqaddas, 26 Shahrivar 1399, www.defapress.ir/fa/news/416066/
[21] Cordesman, Anthony and Abraham Wagner, Ibid., p. 63.
[22] Valipour-Zaroumi, Seyyed Hussain, Sheklgiri-ye Niroo-haye Se-Ganeh dar Sepah (Formation of the Three Branches in the IRGC), Faslname-ye Negin, No. 27, Bahar 1388, p. 23.
[23] Shiralinia, Jafar, Ibid., p. 125.
[24] Ibid., p. 149.
[25] Cordesman, Anthony and Abraham Wagner, Ibid., p. 135.
[26] Yahussaini, Seyyed Qasem, Bar-e Digar Nader (Nader Once Again), Tehran, Nashr-e Fatihan, 3rd Ed., 1395, Pp. 16–17.
[27] Shiralinia, Jafar, Ibid., p. 149.
[28] Moarrefi va Tarikhche-ye Niroo-ye Daryayi-ye Sepah (Introduction and History of the IRGC Navy), 28 Esfand 1401, Site-e Kashtidaran, www.kashtidaran.com/blog/history-of-the-irgc-navy
