The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy was one of the active military branches during the Iran– Iraq War.

The history of the Iranian Navy goes back to 1927, when a group of army officers were sent to Italy for training. After their return and the purchase of six warships from Italy in 1932, the navy was officially established in Khorramshahr.⁠[1] Following the Allied invasion of Iran in 1941 during World War II, British forces attacked the Iranian Navy, resulting in the martyrdom of Admiral Bayandor, the Navy’ s commander, along with 650 Iranian sailors.⁠[2]

After the war, in 1947, reconstruction of the Iranian Navy began using vessels delivered by the British. In the following years, additional naval and aviation units were purchased, and the navy’ s bases and deployment areas expanded.⁠[3]

By 1978, the Iranian Navy had around 30,000 personnel, three destroyers equipped with Standard surface‑to‑surface missiles, four SAM‑class ships armed with Sea Killer and Sea Cat missiles, four PF‑103 patrol frigates, six Kaman‑class missile boats with Harpoon missiles, five small minesweepers, seven large patrol boats without missile systems, three supply ships, and fourteen hovercrafts. These units were stationed in Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, Kharg Island, Bandar Anzali, Khorramshahr, and Chabahar.⁠[4]

After the Islamic Revolution and the downsizing of parts of the armed forces, Iranian Navy’ s operational capability declined. Personnel numbers dropped from 30,000 to 20,000, and with the cancellation of military contracts with the United States, the readiness of naval equipment also decreased.⁠[5]

In 1980, following Iraq’ s border invasions, Iranian Navy prepared plans to defend the country’ s maritime sovereignty in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, as well as to protect the three islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa.⁠[6] It also held its first naval exercise after the Revolution.⁠[7]

In September 1980, as Iraqi border attacks intensified, several combat vessels, including the frigates Keyvan, Tiran, Mahan, and Mehran, along with the Bayandor, were moved from the Khorramshahr Base to Bandar-e Imam Khomeini (ra). This relocation later protected them from enemy strikes.⁠[8]

On September 22, 1980, the Iraqi Air Force launched a large‑scale attack on Iranian air bases, part of which targeted Bushehr, though the navy’ s facilities and ships were not damaged.⁠[9] Immediately after the attack, a battalion of naval commandos under Captain Hooshang Samadi was deployed from Bushehr to Khorramshahr, where they played a major role in the city’ s 34‑day defense alongside other armed forces.⁠[10]

When the siege of Abadan began in October 1980, the navy’ s aviation unit (Havadarya) continuously supported Iranian forces in the area using hovercraft and helicopters. For example, on October 31, 1980, by transporting troops from the 153rd Battalion of the 77th Division, they helped defeat Iraqi forces in the Zulfaqari neighborhood and enabled entry into Abadan Island.⁠[11]

On September 21, 1980, the Iranian Navy established an advanced operational headquarters in Bushehr under the name Combat Unit 421 to plan, oversee, and control naval operations in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. This headquarters played a key role in directing a series of naval operations during the Iran-Iraq War.⁠[12] Under its command, in the operations Shahid Safari and Ashkan in 1980, the Al‑Bakr and Al‑Amiyah oil terminals in the northern Persian Gulf were set on fire, effectively cutting off Iraq’ s maritime oil exports.⁠[13]

On November 28, 1980, at the peak of naval operations, the navy launched Operation Morvarid, centered on the Peykan missile boat and supported by Air Force Phantoms. As a result, 11 Iraqi combat vessels, 13 fighter jets, and one helicopter were destroyed, and Iraq’ s naval activity in the Persian Gulf was nearly halted.⁠[14]

During Operation Beit al‑Muqaddas and the liberation of Khorramshahr, the navy used 300 boats to move Army and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps units to the western bank of the Karun River.⁠[15] In Operation Kheibar in February 1984, the navy’ s helicopters and hovercraft were crucial in transporting Iranian forces and capturing the Majnoon Islands.⁠[16] The following year, during Operation Badr in the same region, the navy hovercraft again played a key role in moving Iranian troops to the Majnoon Islands.⁠[17]

Other major missions undertaken by the Iranian Navy during the war included escorting oil tankers to Kharg Island, protecting commercial ships heading to Bandar‑e Imam Khomeini (ra), and responding to Iraqi airstrikes.⁠[18]

Beyond its confrontations with Iraq, the navy also clashed with U. S. vessels as a result of the American fleet’ s presence in the Persian Gulf. The peak of these confrontations came in April 1988, when the Sahand, Sabalan, and Joshan engaged U. S. warships. In the unequal battle that followed, the Sahand and the Joshan were sunk.⁠[19]

Totally, 673 personnel of the Iranian Navy were martyred during the Iran– Iraq War.⁠[20] Among the most notable were Captain Muhammad‑Ebrahim Hemmati, commander of the frigate Peykan,⁠[21] and Captain Ali Zare Nemati, the deputy commander of the frigate Joshan.⁠[22]

Following the war, a range of programs was introduced to improve Iranian Navy’ s capabilities. Three submarines were added to the fleet, forming the navy’ s submarine force.⁠[23] Reconstruction and the development of new equipment also began, including the production of Jamaran‑class destroyers.⁠[24]

Throughout the war, the Iranian Navy was commanded by Captain Bahram Afzali, Captain Esfandiar Hussaini, and Rear Admiral Muhammad‑Hussain Malekzadegan. Today, Rear Admiral Shahram Irani holds this position.⁠[25]