Islamic Republic of Iran Navy

This article is about the navy of Iran's regular military. For the navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, see Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps 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; 139 years ago (1885) (first modern-day naval forces)
  • 1923; 101 years ago (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, romanized: Nirū-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.