By Staff, Agencies

The commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards [IRG] Navy Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri revealed that his country is to soon unveil a domestically developed supersonic cruise missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers [1,242 miles], further solidifying Tehran’s advanced military capabilities in naval defense.

The new projectile, set to be unveiled during the next Persian calendar year -- which will start on March 20 -- would significantly enhance Iran’s deterrence capabilities, Tangsiri said on Sunday, detailing the latest advancements in the country’s naval power.

“We now have missiles that can be launched from the depths of the Iranian territory, eliminating the need for coastal launches,” the commander stated, speaking during a special televised program titled Fajr [Dawn] of Hope; Powerful Iran, aired on the eve of the 46th anniversary of the historic victory of the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"With these advancements, we can strike targets in the Sea of Oman directly from the northern [part of the] Gulf."

He confirmed that the IRG had successfully launched a cruise missile from southern part of the western Iranian Tabas region, saying the projectile accurately struck a target lying 650 kilometers [403 miles] away in the Sea of Oman that lies to the country’s south.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Navy’s indigenous Shahid Mahdavi oceangoing warship has crossed the Equator and sailed into the Southern Hemisphere for the first time.

Highlighting Iran’s strategic military preparedness, Tangsiri revealed that the county’s entire 2,200-kilometer [1,367-mile] southern coastline has been fortified through collaboration between the IRG, the Army’s naval forces, and the Basij volunteer force’s maritime division.

He further emphasized that many military assets have been strategically relocated to beneath high-altitude areas across the coastal areas, rendering them impervious to the enemy’s bunker-busting bombs.

“In the southern regions, we have leveraged the natural mountainous terrain to safeguard critical military infrastructure, ensuring that no missile or bomb can inflict damage on our assets,” he said.

The commander also highlighted Iran’s expanding naval reach, stating that the Corps’ Shahid Mahdavi military vessel -- that is capable of carrying helicopters and missile launchers -- was currently deployed in Indonesia alongside an Iranian Army naval fleet for joint military exercises.

Previously, the vessel undertook a remarkable 39-day mission, sailing as far as the waters lying near northern Australia and within 500 nautical miles of Diego Garcia, a key American military base in the Indian Ocean, he noted.

Tangsiri also touched on another milestone achievement by Iran’s military-industrial complex, namely development of the Islamic Republic’s first drone carrier military vessel.

He revealed that the IRG Navy had repurposed aging commercial vessels, transforming them into state-of-the-art drone carriers, a practice that only used to be employed by some, including the US and Britain.

“The first American aircraft carrier was originally a converted merchant ship. The British have done the same with captured German vessels, and recently, the Dutch handed over a commercial ship to the UK for transformation into a warship. Iran has followed a similar approach, successfully developing its first drone carrier,” he explained.

According to the commander, the IRG has also mastered the aircraft arrestor technology -- that helps slowing down an aircraft, reducing its torque or the distance it could run on the ground during routine or emergency landings.

He said that the capability used to be previously exclusive to the United States, adding that its harnessing by the Islamic Republic further demonstrated the country’s self-sufficiency in high-tech military innovation.

Tangsiri emphasized that all of Iran’s latest missiles were AI [artificial intelligence]-driven and equipped with precision-strike capabilities, underscoring the nation’s commitment to self-reliance in defense technologies.