Unveiling ship and missile launchers, Iran Guards commander warns ‘enemy’ naval presence

The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vows to reach “the enemy” far and near as tensions soar on key shipping routes where Tehran’s allies have been attacking vessels.

“Today, we are facing an all-out battle with the enemy,” says Guards commander Hossein Salami at a ceremony in the southern Gulf port city of Bandar Abbas, where the Guards’ navy unveiled a new ship named “Abu Mahdi” and 100 missile launchers.

Salami did not name the enemy, but 22 nations have agreed to participate in a US-led coalition to safeguard commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement.

The Houthi attacks since November are a show of support for Hamas in its war with Israel, sparked by the October 7 onslaught by the Gaza-based terror group.

In response, many major shipping companies have switched to the longer and more costly route around the Africa’s Cape of Good Hope rather than pass through the Suez Canal, which handles about 12% of global trade.

“We need to defend our national interests to wherever they extend,” Salami says in a televised speech. “It will be harmful for the enemy to be found near and at a half distant. They should stay away from this area.”

The Guards’ navy, he says, had made a “brilliant leap in its offensive and defensive powers” to challenge the world’s naval powers.

According to Iranian media, Iran’s Alborz warship entered the Red Sea earlier this month to secure shipping routes.