Iran Now Using Warships to Escort Their Commercial Ships

August 26: Iran just deployed its most advanced warship — a missile-equipped naval destroyer — to the Gulf of Aden on Monday to protect its ships.

The destroyer Sahand, equipped with surface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes, and air defense systems, deployed to the Gulf of Aden alongside of the logistical support ship Kharg, which carries helicopters, the Associated Press reported.

When the Sahand was commissioned in 2018, Iran referred to it as its most advanced warship, Radio Farda reported.

The warships will reportedly be protecting Iran’s commercial vessels in the Gulf as they travel through the Sea of Oman.

The move comes after an Iranian tanker, Grace 1, was detained near the British territory of Gibraltar on July 4 after it was suspected to be shipping oil to Syria – a violation of European Union sanctions.

Iran said the oil was not on its way to Syria, but could not prove to British authorities that the oil wouldn’t end up there – a condition that would’ve enabled the tanker’s release.

The U.S. filed a petition in Gibraltar’s Supreme Court in an attempt to seize the tanker, but the petition was not granted. Instead, the ship was released and ordered not to go to Syria.

An Iranian official said the ship’s 2.1 million barrels of oil, valued at approximately $130 million, has been sold to an “unnamed buyer,” the Associated Press noted.

The ship had reflagged itself as the Adrian Darya and was headed to Turkey, but has changed its destination. Now the ship is heading east in the Mediterranean Sea.

Source: American Military News