Navy
In late 2020, the Pentagon ramped up aerial and naval deployments around Iran amid military tensions in the Persian Gulf. The new deployments began in late November 2020 and continued through 2022. They included several flights of B-52 or B-1 bombers, a nuclear-powered submarine and a carrier…
Between September 10 and 12, 2020, Iran tested cruise missiles and drones during an annual three-day war game. The Zolfaghar-99 exercise, named after Imam Ali’s sword, was held around three key waterways — the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean, an area totaling 772,200…
During a wargame on July 28, Iran ran a mock attack on a fake U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired missiles at a dummy war ship near the Strait of Hormuz. The exercise – dubbed Great Prophet 14 – involved the IRGC’s air force and navy, but…
In November 2019, the United States and six other countries—Australia, Bahrain, Britain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—launched Operation Sentinel in the Persian Gulf. Albania and Lithuania joined later, in November 2019 and in March 2020, respectively. Why? What are the…
Iran could develop and test an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States by 2015, according to a new report by U.S. National Air and Space Intelligence Center. Tehran’s extensive missile development program has benefited from Chinese, North Korean and Russian…
Iran is expanding its maritime territorial claims while strengthening naval ties with China and Russia, according to a new Institute for the Study of War report. Tehran reduced the size, scope and duration of local naval exercises during the past year. But it also increased long-range…
Michael Connell What is the record of interaction between the U.S. and Iranian navies in the Persian Gulf? The United States and Iran have never officially been at war, but several recent incidents between the U.S. and Iranian navies have had the potential to escalate into…
Michael Connell What is the record of interaction between the U.S. and Iranian navies in the Persian Gulf? The United States and Iran have never officially been at war, but several recent incidents between the U.S. and Iranian navies have had the potential to escalate into…
Michael Connell Iranian and U.S. naval forces have had sporadic and sometimes hostile interactions since the 1980s. ·May 13, 1984: After repeated Iraqi attacks on Iranian shipping and refining facilities, Iran retaliated with attacks on neutral shipping. The tit-…
On March 5, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East said that he believes Iran is buying time with talks on its controversial nuclear program. But Marines Corps General James Mattis told the Senate Armed Service Committee that negotiations should continue because they are "critical to…