IRGC navy to build permanent Indian Ocean base, says commander

Admiral Alireza Tangsiri says force regularly operates beyond Iranian waters

(FILES) In this file image grab taken on December 27, 2019 from footage obtained from Iranian State TV IRIB, shows a view of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy frigate "Jamaran" during Iran-Russia-China joint naval drills in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman. An Iranian warship was accidentally hit by a missile during exercises in the Gulf of Oman, killing at least one, state television said on May 11, 2020, amid tensions with the US in the waterway. The friendly fire incident involving the Konarak vessel occurred on Sunday afternoon near Bandar-e Jask, off the southern coast of the Islamic republic, it said on its website. Tasnim news agency said in an English-language tweet that the Konarak had sunk after being hit by the missile fired by another Iranian warship. "Konarak was 'sunk by friendly fire' after Moudge-class frigate 'Jamaran' accidentally shot (it) with a missile during live firing exercise in Jask area of #PersianGulf waters on 10th May." - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT - AFP PHOTO / HO / IRIB" NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED  - NO RESALE - NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA/PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS/ OUTSIDE IRAN/ STRICTLY NI ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/ VOA PERSIAN/ MANOTO-1 TV/ IRAN INTERNATIONAL
 / AFP / IRIB TV / - / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT - AFP PHOTO / HO / IRIB" NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS FROM ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, AFP IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIGITAL ALTERATIONS TO THE PICTURE'S EDITORIAL CONTENT, DATE AND LOCATION WHICH CANNOT BE INDEPENDENTLY VERIFIED  - NO RESALE - NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA/PERSIAN LANGUAGE TV STATIONS/ OUTSIDE IRAN/ STRICTLY NI ACCESS BBC PERSIAN/ VOA PERSIAN/ MANOTO-1 TV/ IRAN INTERNATIONAL
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The naval forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps planned to build a permanent base in the Indian Ocean by the end of the year, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri told state-run Fars news agency.

He said the operation came at the request of military leadership and was intended to protect fishing and industrial shipping.

Adm Tangsiri said the IRGC navy regularly operates in the Indian Ocean and so building a permanent base there was not unusual.

"The deployment of the fleet by the IRGC navy to distant waters has been done in the past, and our second fleet was also sent to the waters of the Indian Ocean," he said. “[Building a permanent marine base will improve] security in the mouth of the Indian Ocean that will also be of great help to the growing presence of Iranian fishing and fishing development in the region,” he said.

The base would be tasked with preventing piracy and harassment of Iranian fishing vessels by foreign ships.

Adm Tangsiri did not say where it would be built and gave no other details of the project.

Iran invests heavily in its naval defences and operates large warships as well as flotillas of fast attack boats.

The US has accused Iranian boats of harassing its ships in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, sailing at speed in close proximity to its vessels.

An incident in April led US President Donald Trump to order the US Navy to shoot any Iranian gunboats in such circumstances.

It led the navy in May to issue an alert that appeared to target Iran by warning mariners in the Gulf to stay 100 metres from US warships or risk being “interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures”.

However, the US Navy said that this did not represent a change to the rules of engagement.

Iran has also used its navy to intercept commercial ships in the crucial international channel through the Gulf of Oman – the conduit for much of the world’s oil exports.

Last July, the Iranian Navy intercepted the Stena Impero as it travelled out to sea, impounding the vessel in what the British government said was a breach of international maritime law. That happened after British Royal Marines boarded and impounded a Panamanian flagged Iranian vessel off the coast of Gibraltar on suspicion of disregarding sanctions on Syria by transferring fuel.

It was released several weeks later, and the US provided images and information it claimed were proof the Grace 1 laid up off the Syrian coast and offloaded its cargo.