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Iranian Navy Reveals Cutting Edge Missile Boat as Regional Tensions Escalate
The Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a missile boat unveiled by the Iranian regime. Photo: Screenshot
Iran’s armed forces have showcased a new arsenal of deadly naval weaponry as fears of a regional conflagration pitting the State of Israel against the Tehran regime and its regional allies intensify.
The main vessel on display at an unveiling ceremony on Sunday in the port city of Bandar Abbas was a cutting edge missile corvette, described by industry outlet Defence Blog as a “futuristic missile boat equipped to accommodate various drones and speedboats.”
Named after Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi Islamist militia commander who was killed alongside Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a US airstrike in Jan. 2020, the new vessel was hailed by Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiria of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “mobile maritime city ready to carry out ocean missions, ensuring the sustainable security of sea communication lines and providing aid to the commercial and fishing fleets of the Islamic Republic and regional countries.” The ship is equipped with a range of weapons, including anti-ship cruise missiles, 20mm Gatling guns, and surface-to-air (SAM) missiles.
Speaking at the ceremony, the IRGC’s commander, Gen. Hossein Salami, warned Iran’s adversaries that the Islamic Republic now possessed significant naval warfare capabilities.
The new hardware also includes 100 fast-attack crafts equipped to carry missiles with a range of over 100 miles.
In the three months since Hamas terrorists backed by Iran carried out a pogrom in southern Israel on Oct. 7 that took the lives of more than 1,200 people, the Iranian regime has doubled down on its goal of eliminating the Jewish state, with key regional allies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthi rebels in Yemen respectively firing missiles at towns in northern Israel and targeting shipping in the Red Sea bound for Israeli ports.
At a ceremony on Sunday marking the anniversary of Soleimani’s assassination, Brig.-Gen. Iraj Masjedi of the IRGC pledged that the regime would support Hamas and other terrorist organizations until the “total elimination” of Israel was achieved.
Urging Palestinians to exact further “harsh revenge” against Israel, Masjedi said that Iran’s “enemies, the Americans and the Zionists, should know that the Islamic forces will not shy away from defending their rights and their lands against the Zionists.”
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Lebanon Must Disarm Hezbollah to Have a Shot at Better Days, Says US Envoy
Thomas Barrack at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 4, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
i24 News – Lebanon’s daunting social, economic and political issues would not get resolved unless the state persists in the efforts to disarm Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy behind so much of the unrest and destruction, special US envoy Tom Barrack told The National.
“You have Israel on one side, you have Iran on the other, and now you have Syria manifesting itself so quickly that if Lebanon doesn’t move, it’s going to be Bilad Al Sham again,” he said, using the historical Arabic name for the region sometimes known as “larger Syria.”
The official stressed the need to follow through on promises to disarm the Iranian proxy, which suffered severe blows from Israel in the past year, including the elimination of its entire leadership, and is considered a weakened though still dangerous jihadist outfit.
“There are issues that we have to arm wrestle with each other over to come to a final conclusion. Remember, we have an agreement, it was a great agreement. The problem is, nobody followed it,” he told The National.
Barrack spoke on the heels of a trip to Beirut, where he proposed a diplomatic plan for the region involving the full disarmament of Hezbollah by the Lebanese state.
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Report: Putin Urges Iran to Accept ‘Zero Enrichment’ Nuclear Deal With US
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a cultural forum dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the birth of the Turkmen poet and philosopher Magtymguly Fragi, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 11, 2024. Photo: Sputnik/Alexander Scherbak/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Iranian leadership that he supports the idea of a nuclear deal in which Iran is unable to enrich uranium, the Axios website reported on Saturday. The Russian strongman also relayed the message to his American counterpart, President Donald Trump, the report said.
Iranian news agency Tasnim issued a denial, citing an “informed source” as saying Putin had not sent any message to Iran in this regard.
Also on Saturday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that “Any negotiated solution must respect Iran’s right to enrichment. No agreement without recognizing our right to enrichment. If negotiations occur, the only topic will be the nuclear program. No other issues, especially defense or military matters, will be on the agenda.”
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Attending At Least One Meeting With Israeli Officials in Azerbaijan
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
i24 News – Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa is attending at least one meeting with Israeli officials in Azerbaijan today, despite sources in Damascus claiming he wasn’t attending, a Syrian source close to President Al-Sharaa tells i24NEWS.
The Syrian source stated that this is a series of two or three meetings between the sides, with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also in attendance, along with Ahmed Al-Dalati, the Syrian government’s liaison for security meetings with Israel.
The high-level Israeli delegation includes a special envoy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as security and military figures.
The purpose of the meetings is to discuss further details of the security agreement to be signed between Israel and Syria, the Iranian threat in Syria and Lebanon, Hezbollah’s weapons, the weapons of Palestinian militias, the Palestinians camps in Lebanon, and the future of Palestinian refugees from Gaza in the region.
The possibility of opening an Israeli coordination office in Damascus, without diplomatic status, might also be discussed.
The source stated that the decision to hold the meetings in Azerbaijan, made by Israel and the US, is intended to send a message to Iran.
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