By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
TEHRAN/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Despite Western sanctions, Iran is building a massive fleet of warships capable of reaching adversaries, real or perceived, far beyond the Persian Gulf, several sources confirmed Thursday.
Worthy News learned that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) commissioned hundreds of new vessels, including new warships capable of operating on the high seas.
Experts said that most other vessels are newer variants of the missile, rocket, and heavy machine-gun-clad speedboats that have long formed the backbone of the IRGCN’s fleet.
Founded in 1985, the IRGCN is the naval branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a paramilitary organization that operates as the ideological steward of Iran’s Islamic revolution.
While operating separately from the national military, the IRGCN answers directly to Tehran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Thursday’s confirmation about its vessels came two months after reports that an Iranian warship equipped with drones and missiles crossed the equator into the Southern Hemisphere.
Iran’s IRIB state radio did not reveal the exact location of the Shahid Mahdavi, a converted IRGC container ship unveiled more than a year ago, Worthy News established.
LONG RANGE
According to sources who know about the case, it was the first time the IRGC sent a warship on a long-range mission.
The May 4 event added to worries in Israel and among its Western allies as Iranian forces in February reportedly test-fired “medium-range missiles” reaching a distance of around 1,700 kilometers (1,062 miles).
Separately, IRGC operatives are entering European ports, “concealing their identity” as seafarers while on board Iranian ships and oil tankers, sources familiar with the situation said.
London and Washington-based broadcaster Iran International, run by exiles critical of Tehran, said: “These individuals are not declaring their identity.” Sources said these armed IRGC forces may use this method as a means to spy and collect information in Europe – all while reportedly bypassing sanctions
Worthy News learned that the gunmen are among regular staff on ships in European ports such as Constanta, Romania, Valencia, Spain, Ravenna, Italy, Antwerp, and the Netherlands.
The EU has imposed sanctions against the Islamic Republic – including individuals with the IRGC, government officials, and entities.
The United States and others also launched punitive actions against Tehran over its perceived poor record on human rights, nuclear activities, and military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
To date, 227 individuals and 42 entities have reportedly been sanctioned.
(With additional reporting by the Worthy News Europe Bureau in Budapest).
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A massive barrage of Israeli airstrikes hit Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon just after the terrorist group’s leader declared that two days of intense hybrid bombings, including the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies targeting Hezbollah forces, amounted to a declaration of war.
Facing relentless violence against their communities by Islamic jihadist terror groups, 16.2 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa have now been forced to flee their homes and live in poverty-stricken Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
A Pakistani court has sentenced Shagufta Kiran, a Christian mother of four, to death for “committing blasphemy against Islam,” a senior Christian advocacy activist told Worthy News Thursday.
Amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reiterated that the kingdom would not recognize Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Times of Israel reports. The Crown Prince made his remarks during an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council on Wednesday (September 18).
Taiwanese company Gold Apollo says that the pager model allegedly used by Hezbollah members that simultaneously exploded and killed numerous people, mainly in Lebanon, was made by its Hungarian partner.
Israel has condemned an adopted United Nations resolution demanding that all Israeli forces and civilians pull out of Palestinian areas within a year. The resolution also called for an embargo on arms that Israel might use in those areas.
Israel’s atomic chief has warned that Syria built an undeclared nuclear facility after Iran, which he said has “in alarming amounts conducting covert nuclear activities.”