Iran’s Great Shiite Fleet

Iran’s Great Shiite Fleet

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14345330_sIran is significantly expanding its naval capabilities as the U.S. Navy removes one of its two aircraft carriers from the Persian Gulf due to budgetary constraints.

According to Asian Defense news, the U.S. Navy cut its fleet to account for impending cuts to the defense budget, while Iran has significantly boosted the regional deployment of advanced warships capable of carrying armed, unmanned drones and other types of firepower.

The U.S. Navy announced recently that budgetary constraints forced it to cut in half the number of aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf. The reduction comes despite an official Defense Department directive ordering no less than two carriers to be present in the region due to concerns about Iran.

Due to this the Iranian military leaders are now declaring naval supremacy in the gulf while mocking America’s presence in the region. Additionally, Iran has launched a weeklong series of military drills dubbed “Great Prophet 8” across its southern region.

Today we have a powerful navy, and also very good commercial fleet, and we should strive to accelerate coast line infrastructure developments,” Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, commander of Iran’s Navy, was quoted as saying in Iran’s state-run media earlier this month. “We can confront any enemy anywhere.”

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

The rhetoric is apparently being supported with aggressive action unseen in decades. Iranian leaders view the navy as its primary deterrent to attack and are moving more ships into the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea, and elsewhere, according to reports.

The Islamic Republic’s 24th fleet of warships was sent on a three-month deployment that will reach as far as southeastern Asia, according to Iran’s Press TV.

An Iranian presence in these regions would enable it to potentially disrupt critical shipping lanes such as the Straits of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil supply passes.

It also enables the rogue regime to potentially carry arms to terrorist forces in Sudan and other African countries.

While the international community focuses on Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, the Iranian government has been investing heavily in both its regular navy and its corollary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC-N),” according to a recent report written for the U.S. military.

Additionally, Iran announced that it is building new naval bases as far away as Pakistan, according to Iranian military leaders.

Sayyari announced earlier this week that a new naval base is being constructed near the Pakistan port city of Gwadar, an economically important area located near the Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf, according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency.

Sayyari said the base would help Iran “better control movements in the region,” an ominous warning as Western nations continue to warn Iran against disrupting global trade routes.