DUBAI — Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have taken delivery of the country’s first ship capable of launching drones and helicopters at sea, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday.
Amid military exercises lasting from early January to early March, Iran’s armed forces have unveiled new weaponry as Tehran braces for more conflict with Israel and the United States under President Donald Trump.
“The Revolutionary Guards took action to transform a commercial ship… into a mobile naval platform capable of carrying out drone and helicopter missions in the oceans,” said Navy Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Alireza Tangsiri.
“The addition of this ship to our fleet is an important step in increasing the defense and deterrence capability of Iran in distant waters and in maintaining our national security interests,” Tangsiri added.
According to the IRNA state news agency, the vessel has a capacity of 60 drones.
The Shahid Beheshti, a former container vessel, is equipped with a 180-meter (590-ft) runway and is able to operate without refueling for up to one year, Tasnim said.
He described it as the “largest naval military project” in the history of the Islamic Republic.
This handout photo provided by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official website Sepah News on February 1, 2025, shows IRGC commander-in-chief Major General Hossein Salami (L) alongside navy commander Admiral Alireza Tangsiri talking to a reporter during the unveiling of the Qadr-380 naval cruise missile in an undisclosed location in Iran. (SEPAH NEWS / AFP)
During the unveiling ceremony, Guards chief Hossein Salami said Iran did not seek to threaten others, “but we will not bow to the threat of any power.”
He also stated that Iran “will not engage in any wars with the governments we recognize.”
The ship is different from previous Revolutionary Guards warships because it can launch and retrieve larger drones such as the Qaher, a miniaturized drone version of a local fighter jet.
The warship also holds fast-attack craft and unmanned submarines, in addition to short-range anti-ship cruise missiles.
The chief of the Iranian armed forces, General Mohammad Bagheri, who was also present at the ceremony, described the vessel as “a mobile base that can operate self-sufficiently throughout the world’s waters.”
Last month, Iran’s conventional navy received its first signal intelligence ship.
In this photo provided Monday, Jan. 13, 2025, by the Iranian Army, domestically-built drones are displayed in a ceremony to deliver the drones to the army in an undisclosed location in Iran. (Iranian Army via AP)
Iran on Sunday unveiled a new ballistic missile it said was capable of reaching targets up to 1,700 kilometers (1,056 miles) away during a ceremony attended by President Masoud Pezeshkian. That puts Israel within range of the missile.
Since the 1979 revolution and the break in ties with the United States — which had been Iran’s main arms supporter — Tehran has developed a series of sophisticated missiles and drones.
Iran has admitted to supplying drones to Russia, which has used them during its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Over the past year, Iran fired two massive missile and drone barrages at Israel in a spillover from the war in the Gaza Strip. Though a few of the missiles caused some damage, the drones were shot down and the assaults were largely repulsed by Israel, the US, and an alliance of Western and Arab militaries. Israeli airstrikes in response destroyed most of Iran’s advanced air defense batteries as well as some key rocket and drone manufacturing sites.
The remains of an Iranian missile on the ground in the Negev desert near Arad, on October 2, 2024, in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel. (Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
The unveiling of the carrier coincides with an annual 10-day celebration of the Islamic Revolution that overthrew the US-backed shah of Iran.
Since the return of US President Donald Trump, who pursued a “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran during his first term, the Iranian government has conducted multiple shows of military strength.
The armed forces have launched large-scale military exercises across the country and showcased underground military bases in recent days.
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