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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Bolster Naval Arsenal

Iranian cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones are seen on Saturday. (Tasnim)
Iranian cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones are seen on Saturday. (Tasnim)
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Bolster Naval Arsenal

Iranian cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones are seen on Saturday. (Tasnim)
Iranian cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and drones are seen on Saturday. (Tasnim)

Iran has equipped its Revolutionary Guards’ navy with drones and 1,000-km range missiles, Iranian news agencies reported on Saturday, as the US offers to put guards on commercial ships going through the Arab Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz.

According to the official IRNA news agency, various types of drones, along with several hundred cruise and ballistic missiles with ranges ranging from 300 to 1000 kilometers, have been added to the naval capabilities of the Revolutionary Guards.

These additions were reported by Reuters.

Last week, the Revolutionary Guards conducted maneuvers on the occupied Emirati island of Abu Musa, with participation from naval forces as well as special units from the Basij militia.

Meanwhile, media outlets affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards launched a propaganda campaign to spotlight the utilization of artificial intelligence in missiles.

Revolutionary Guards' Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri told state TV on Saturday that the new missiles had better precision, as well as a longer range.

“The cruise missiles can attack several targets simultaneously and the commands can be altered after take-off,” Tangsiri said.

“In the drone system, flight time can be extended, larger and heavier warheads can be utilized, e-warfare can be countered, firing at moving targets is possible, and their location can be pinpointed,” he added regarding drones.

Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami said: “Instead of the enemy’s presence becoming a threat to us, it has become an opportunity.”

“By seizing opportunities, overcoming threats and risks, our defensive and military productivity growth rates have increased,” he added.

“Today, the systems and equipment in the field are a normal phenomenon in our view; we are not astonished as we were in past years.”

Salami downplayed the impact of US sanctions on the expansion of Iran’s weaponry, especially concerning ballistic missiles and Iranian drones.

“The enemies wanted to impose sanctions on us, but we have grown stronger,” he remarked.

The naval forces of the Revolutionary Guards serve as a parallel entity to the Iranian Army’s navy and are responsible for safeguarding Iran’s waters in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.

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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)

Georgia's president called for protests on Monday following a disputed parliamentary election, and the United States and the European Union urged a full investigation into reports of violations in the voting.
The results, with almost all precincts counted, were a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast Saturday's election as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe, said Reuters.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said on Sunday they had registered incidents of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and ballot-stuffing that could have affected the outcome, but they stopped short of saying the election was rigged.
President Salome Zourabichvili urged people to take to the streets to protest against the results of the ballot, which the electoral commission said the ruling party had won.
In an address on Sunday, she referred to the result as a "Russian special operation". She did not clarify what she meant by the term.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, of which Zourabichvili is a fierce critic, clinched nearly 54% of the vote, the commission said, as opposition parties contested the outcome and vote monitors reported significant violations.
Georgian media cited Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as saying on Monday that the opposition was attempting to topple the "constitutional order" and that his government remained committed to European integration.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States joined calls from observers for a full probe.
"Going forward, we encourage Georgia's political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together," Blinken said in a statement.
Earlier, the European Union urged Georgia to swiftly and transparently investigate the alleged irregularities in the vote.
"The EU recalls that any legislation that undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of Georgian citizens and runs counter to the values and principles upon which the EU is founded, must be repealed," the European Commission said in a joint statement with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
President Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally who won the 2018 presidential vote as an independent, urged Georgians to protest in the center of the capital Tbilisi on Monday evening, to show the world "that we do not recognize these elections".
For years, Georgia was one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the Soviet Union, with polls showing many Georgians disliking Russia for its support of two breakaway regions of their country.
Russia defeated Georgia in their brief war over the rebel province of South Ossetia in 2008.
The election result poses a challenge to the EU's ambition to expand by bringing in more former Soviet states.
Moldova earlier this month narrowly approved adding a clause to the constitution defining EU accession as a goal. Moldovan officials said Russia meddled in the election, a claim denied by Moscow.