Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy

This article is about Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. For Navy of Iran's regular military, see Islamic Republic of Iran Navy.

The Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or Revolutionary Guards' Navy (Persian: نیروی دریایی سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی), acronym NEDSA (Persian: ندسا), consists of 20,000 men and 1,500 boats and fast attack boats separate from the regular Navy of Artesh assuming control over Iranian maritime operations in the Persian Gulf. IRGC’s Navy has steadily improved its capabilities to support unconventional warfare and defend Iran’s offshore facilities, coastlines, and islands in the Persian Gulf.

Overview

IRGC Navy and Artesh Navy overlap functions and areas of responsibility, but they are distinct in terms of how they are trained and equipped— and more importantly also in how they fight. The Revolutionary Guards Navy has a large inventory of small fast attack craft, and specializes in asymmetric hit-and-run tactics. It is more akin to a guerrilla force at sea, and maintains large arsenals of coastal defense and anti-ship cruise missiles and mines.

Takavar member of Sepah Navy Special Force in Great Prophet IX maneuver, 25–27 February 2015

It has also a Takavar (special force) unit, called Sepah Navy Special Force (S.N.S.F.).

Equipment

Watercraft

• Thondar Class Missile Boats (10)
• Tir II (IPS 18) Torpedo Boats (10)
• IPS-16 Peykaap Class Zolfaghar Torpedo Boats (10)
• Boghammar Patrol Boats
• Rigid-hulled inflatable Zodiac Commando Boats
• Type Seraj Speedboats Missile & Torpedo Boats (12), based on the Bladerunner 51 speedboat
• Catamaran Shahid Nazeri

• 
  Fast attack craft of the IRGC
• 
  Fast attack craft of the IRGC

Aircraft

• Mil Mi-17 Helicopter
• Bavar 2 Ground effect vehicle (12+)

Coastal Anti-Ship Missiles

• Noor, based on the Chinese C-802 (+)
• Kowsar, based on the Chinese C-701 (+)
• Kowsar, based on the Chinese TL-10 (+)
• Nasr-1, based on the Chinese TL-6 (+)
• HY-2 Silkworm (+)
• Qader, medium-range anti-ship cruise missile

• 
  Firing Nasr-1 Missile from a truck launcher in Velayat-90 Naval Exercise
• 
  Nasr-1
• 
  Qader

Facilities

It is believed that the IRGC's Navy has facilities on the following islands:

• Farsi Island
• Sirri Island
• Abu Musa
• Larak Island

History

Iran–Iraq War

IRGC speedboats swarming in the Persian Gulf during Iran-Iraq War

During the "Tanker War" phase of the Iran–Iraq War, beside the regular Iranian Navy, IRGC started employing swarm tactics and surprise attacks using Boghammar speedboats fitted with rocket launchers, RPGs, and heavy machine guns. Attacks on Kuwaiti tankers, an Iraqi ally, eventually dragged the US Navy into the Persian Gulf to escort Kuwaiti tankers. As a response, IRGC ordered mining west of Farsi Island on the route of the very first caravan—the Kuwaiti supertanker SS Bridgeton escorted by four US warships—which successfully hit the tanker itself.

British Royal Navy

Main articles: 2004 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel and 2007 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel

On 21 June 2004, eight sailors and Royal Marines were seized by forces of the Revolutionary Guards' Navy while training Iraqi river patrol personnel in the Persian Gulf. On 23 March 2007, fifteen sailors and Royal Marines from HMS Cornwall were seized by forces of the Revolutionary Guards' Navy in the Persian Gulf.

United States Navy

Main articles: 2008 U.S.–Iranian naval dispute and 2016 U.S.–Iran naval incident

On 7 January 2008, US officials claimed five Iranian speedboats 'harassed' United States Navy vessels in the Persian Gulf. IRGC speedboats made threatening moves and in one case even came within 180 meters of US warships. The US Navy also claimed to have received a radio transmission from Iranian boats saying: "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes". After this US ships were said to have taken up their gun positions and were ready to open fire at one of the boats when the Iranians turned away and one of the Iranian speedboats (allegedly) dropped white boxes into the water in front of the U.S. ships, it was not clear what was in the boxes.

Iranian officials and military commanders later downplayed the incidents as normal and denied having sent the radio transmission. After the US released a video showing Iranian speedboats swarming US ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran released its own video of the incident after suggesting the US video was staged.

On 12 January 2016,10 American sailors were apprehended by IRGC officials off the coast of Farsi Island, which doubles as a naval installation for the IRGC. American officials stated that the sailors were on a training mission when one of their boats experienced a mechanical failure. During this time the vessel drifted into Iranian territorial waters spurring IRGC naval units to respond and apprehend the sailors with both vessels. US Secretary of State John Kerry engaged in a phone call with Iranian officials to defuse the situation. Iranian officials said that the sailors were in custody, but would be freed within hours, understanding that the incident was a mistake.

Maneuvers

• On February 25, 2015, war games exercises (Great Prophet IX) were conducted in the general area of the Strait of Hormuz on Larak Island, Persian Gulf.