Islamic Republic of Iran expands naval operations in Latin American waters
BY ROBERT SPENCER
Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.
Weakness invites aggression. Thanks, Joe!
“Iranian Navy Expands Operations in Latin American Waters,” by Maria Zuppello, IPT News, January 26, 2023:
The presence this week of two Iranian warships docked in Rio de Janeiro reinforces a top commander’s pledge that the Islamic Republic wants an offensive military capability in Latin American waters.
Frigate Dena and the warship Makran docked Monday for a reported one-week stay in Brazil. The specifics of the visit remain unclear.
In addition to being the Iranian Navy’s newest warship, the former oil tanker Makran also is its largest. Like the U.S. Navy’s Expeditionary Sea Base, the Makran is expected to serve as a mobile sea base for small boats and planes capable of operating anywhere in the world.
In 2021, the Pentagon learned that Makran was en route to Venezuela with seven high-speed missile boats on board. Following U.S. diplomatic pressure, Venezuelan officials ultimately denied the ship’s entry.
Dena is armed with four Qader anti-ship missiles that have a range of 300 km and are described by Iranian officials as “the most powerful and precise missile of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Navy.”
“So far, we have been present in all the strategic straits of the world,” Iranian Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said Jan. 11. “This year we are planning to be present in the Panama Canal.”
Panama, which is about 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) from the southern United States border, may be the ships’ next stop. The canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and is one of the world’s most strategic waterways.
As a result, the Panama Canal is an essential shipping lane for international trade, and any disruption in its operations would have enormous consequences for the global economy. Furthermore, Venezuela, Iran’s primary regional ally, is located near the maritime routes to and from the Panama Canal.
Iran has increased its naval activities in recent years, including in the Red Sea, Raz Zimmt, a research fellow at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) told the Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT).
“It seems that Iran is interested in expanding its military, and especially its naval cooperation with Brazil as part of its efforts to improve its military, including its naval, capabilities through joint cooperation with countries willing to do that,” Zimmt said. “Such joint activities with its partners in Latin America could be used as a deterring message to the U.S., which is engaged in military joint efforts with Israel and its Arab partners in the Gulf.”…