Iran unveils new navy ship amid regional tensions, nuclear talks
Iran has been expanding its naval fleet in recent years amid tensions with the United States and Israel, though the Islamic Republic is currently engaged in negotiations with Washington.
Iran unveiled a new high-speed vessel on Wednesday, signaling its growing naval ambitions amid rising tensions with the United States and Israel.
The naval commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Rear Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, said the corps built a “missile-launching vessel” called Shahid Soleimani. Tangsiri said the new vessel, which was built in Iran, can travel 5,000 nautical miles (5,754 miles or 9,260 kilometers) without stopping and reach a speed of 116 knots (133 miles or 215 kilometers per hour), according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency — a figure that, if accurate, would make it one of the fastest warships in the world.
Al-Monitor was unable to immediately verify the specs of the ship. For comparison, the Freedom class of US Navy ships — one of the fastest in the Pentagon's arsenal — can reach speeds of around 45 knots (52 miles or 83 kilometers per hour). Speed boats can reach faster speeds. Tangsiri did not specify the exact type of ship.
The ship is named after the late commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq in 2020.
The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency described the vessel as a "missile-launching speed boat." The craft was unveiled to mark National Persian Gulf Day in Iran.
Why it matters: Iran has significantly built up its naval arsenal in recent years with several upgrades and additions to its fleet:
- The IRGC unveiled the Martyr Rais Ali Delvari in February, saying the ship can carry a helicopter as well as missiles with a range of around 466 miles (750 kilometers).
- The Iranian navy unveiled the signals intelligence vessel Zagros in January.
- The IRGC added cruise missiles and combat drones to several naval ships last August.
- Iran’s navy added the Deylaman destroyer to its fleet in late 2023.
The Iranian military has also held a number of drills this year, including a naval exercise in the Indian Ocean in late February.
Tensions between Iran and the United States and Israel have soared in the past year. Iran struck Israel directly for the first time last April after an Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus killed several IRGC members. After Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut, Iran followed with another attack in October.
President Donald Trump brought back his so-called maximum pressure strategy against Iran via a February memorandum, adding additional sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Trump has also called for negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, alongside threats to bomb the country if it does not agree to a new deal.
The United States and Iran began nuclear talks earlier this month. Washington accuses Tehran of seeking to build a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though its stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium has increased in 2025, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Know more: Iranian border guards said they seized a boat carrying 84,400 liters of smuggled diesel fuel in the Gulf off the coast of Minab on Wednesday, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported.
Iranian authorities routinely report busts of smuggled fuel. In late March, the IRGC said it had stopped two foreign ships from smuggling diesel.
Iran has some of the lowest fuel prices in the world due to subsidies and the plunge in the value of the national currency, making smuggling for the purpose of sale abroad appealing, according to Reuters.
