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(93,976 posts)
20. is that right?
Mon Mar 2, 2026, 04:59 PM
Monday

Combined, Iran operates some 145+ military combat vessels and hundreds of smaller watercraft, and it's likely that they're all in play in the conflict. Much of its strength lies in fast-attack watercraft that are designed to breach the perimeter defenses of larger vessels to swarm and attack. This isn't all that Iran has floating on or under the water's surface, as there's also a small fleet of diesel-powered submarines.

The IRIN operates a number of traditional warships alongside various other types of watercraft. It utilizes several prominent naval bases and ports for operations throughout the region, and according to Global Firepower's 2026 report, the IRIN is ranked 35th out of 145 naval forces across the globe. While it doesn't have large aircraft carriers or similar types of massive blue-water navy vessels, the IRIN has (or possibly had) three modern destroyers capable of conducting intelligence operations and launching missiles.

It also employs seven frigates and a variety of amphibious assault ships and corvettes. The IRIN utilizes around 25 submarines, 21 patrol vessels, and one mine warfare ship. On March 1, 2026, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that Operation Epic Fury had sunk nine unspecified vessels of the IRIN. While he didn't detail the types of ships, he described them as being large and important, so it's possible that they were frigates and/or destroyers.

While the IRIN operates what are more traditionally considered to be warships, the IRGC Navy is more asymmetric in its naval operations. Lacking the capabilities to employ massive vessels like the U.S. and other Western navies, the IRGC Navy has spent a great deal of time and money developing fast-attack craft. According to reporting from June 2025, the fleet consists of 10 Houdong missile boats, 25 Peykaap II missile boats, five C-14 boats, and ten MK13 boats.

A new type of Iranian speedboat used by the IRGC Navy can go 126.6 mph, shoot anti-ship cruise missiles, and is a potential danger to any of the American or allied nations' types of modern warships in the region. Most of the IRGC Navy's fleet is used for fast hit-and-run attacks, so the smaller and lighter the craft, the more efficient it is in these types of operations. Reporting in August 2024 indicated that the IRIN received more than 2,600 missile and drone systems of various types, though it's unclear if any were provided to the IRGC Navy.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/many-warships-does-irans-navy-210957645.html

...so, haven't loss 'entire naval,' as the op exuberantly exclaimed in the op.

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