Islamic Republic of Iran Navy

Islamic Republic of Iran Navy
نیروی دریایی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران
The seal of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy
Founded
  • 525 BCE; c. 2,500 years ago
  • 1885 (1885) (first modern-day naval forces)
  • 1923 (1923) (as Imperial Iranian Navy)
CountryIran
BranchNavy
RoleNaval warfare
Size20,000 (2024 estimate)[1]
Part ofArmy (Artesh)
Garrison/HQBandar Abbas[1]
Nickname(s)Persian: دریادلان, Dəryâdēlân
"Seahearts"
Motto(s)Persian: راه ما، راه حسین است, Râh-ē mâ, râh-ē hoseyn əst
"Our Path, Is Hussain's Path"[2]
Anniversaries28 November
Fleet
Engagements
Commanders
CommanderCommodore Shahram Irani
Insignia
Ensign
Flag
Jack
Roundel

The Islamic Republic of Iran Navy or Iranian Navy (IRIN; Persian: نیروی دریایی ارتش جمهوری اسلامی ایران, romanizedNirū-yē Dəryâyi-yē Ərtēš-ē Žomhūri-yē Ēslâmi-yē Irân), officially abbreviated NEDAJA (Persian: نداجا), is the naval warfare service branch of Iran's regular military, the Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh).[3][4] It is one of Iran's two maritime military branches, alongside the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).[5]

NEDAJA is charged with forming Iran's first line of defense in the Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf and abroad.[3] It is generally considered to be a conventional green-water navy, as it mostly operates regionally,[4] namely in the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and northwest quarter of the Indian Ocean.[3] The Navy aims to develop blue-water capabilities: in July 2016, it announced plans to establish a presence in the Atlantic Ocean,[6] and as of May 2021 has sent ships into the region.[7]

NEDAJA shares many functions and responsibilities with the IRGC Navy, with distinctions in military strategy and equipment: In contrast to the IRGC Navy, which is equipped with small fast-attack craft, the backbone of the Artesh naval inventory consists of larger surface ships, including frigates and corvettes, and submarines.[4]

The Artesh Navy has a large fleet by the standards of the developing world,[8] and has been described as maintaining "robust" capabilities by regional standards.[9] As of 2019, the Navy has several joint exercises with Russia and China called the Marine Security Belt,[10] which it aims to conduct annually.[11]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference IISS2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ باید در همه مسئولین تفکر بحری به وجود بیاید (in Persian), Fars News Agency, archived from the original on July 6, 2017, retrieved December 15, 2015
  3. ^ a b c Hossein Aryan (November 15, 2011), The Artesh: Iran's Marginalized and Under-Armed Conventional Military, Middle East Institute, retrieved December 15, 2015
  4. ^ a b c Michael Connell (March 12, 2013). "Gulf III: Iran's Power in the Sea Lanes". The Iran Primer, United States Institute of Peace. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  5. ^ Benjamin Brimelow (July 16, 2021). "33 years after getting demolished by the US, Iran's navy is flexing its new muscles". Business Insider.
  6. ^ Kenneth Katzman (6 February 2017), "Iran's Foreign and Defense Policies" (PDF), Congressional Research Service, Federation of American Scientists, p. 22, retrieved 1 March 2017
  7. ^ "Iranian Navy ships could reach the Atlantic by Thursday". POLITICO. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  8. ^ Cordesman, Anthony (2016), "The Gulf: How Dangerous is Iran to International Maritime Security?", in Krause, Joachim; Bruns, Sebastian (eds.), Routledge Handbook of Naval Strategy and Security, Routledge, p. 107, ISBN 9781138840935
  9. ^ Nugent, Bob; Cohen, Josh (2012), "The Gulf State Navies" (PDF), Naval Forces (1), AMI International: 32
  10. ^ "Iran, Russia and China launch joint naval exercises in Indian Ocean". World Socialist Web Site. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  11. ^ "Iran seeking joint naval drills in Caspian Sea with regional states: Khanzadi". 30 December 2019.

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