Iran has plans to equip the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC, Sepâh-e Pâsdârân-e Enghelâb-e Eslâmi) with light and semi-heavy domestically-developed submarines. Speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on 22 March, Head of the Marine Industries Organization of the Ministry of Defense and Logistics of the Armed Forces Rear-Admiral Amir Rastegari said that the manufacturing of these submarines will begin this year so that the IRGC will have submarines within the next few years as like as the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy.
All Iran’s submarines are currently operated by the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN). These include an unknown number of Ghadir midget boats built by the Marine Industries Organisation and a single larger Iranian-developed submarine called Fateh. Fateh (ÙاتØ‎, meaning “conqueror”) is an Iranian designed class of semi-heavy submarines. The Fateh class subs can operate more than 200 meters below the sea surface for nearly five weeks. Iran’s first semi-heavy submarine is capable of carrying and firing cruise missiles that can be launched from a submerged position.
The Iranian armed forces on the foreign countries in the marine industry has declined from 70% to 20% today. The Marine Industries Organization manufactures different vessels for the Navy, IRGC and the Coast Guard Police. The organization, for instance, makes rapid boats for the IRGC naval force which highly relies on rapid boats. In order to be able to protect the country’s interests at the sea, one country will need to develop powerful naval forces.
The IRGC is responsible for protecting the Persian Gulf waters up to the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranian Navy is responsible for protecting eastern parts of the Strait of Hormuz to the Sea of Oman and the north of the Indian Ocean, while the Coast Guard Police protects the territorial waters. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is a branch paramilitary of the Iranian Armed Forces, founded after the Iranian Revolution on 22 April 1979 by order of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. IRGC has taken a greater role in nearly every aspect of Iranian society.
