TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian Navy commander Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari announced June 14 that Iran is planning to establish a naval presence in the Atlantic Ocean. In conjunction with this statement, he said, “We have yet to determine which country will assist us regarding the presence of our naval fleet. When the name of the chosen country is confirmed and announced, our strategic naval forces will deploy a training and military flotilla to the Atlantic Ocean.”

Sayyari also made announcements about new developments related to the “Mowj” (“Wave”) project, saying that Mowj frigates 3 and 4 have yet to be named but are 80% complete in terms of their construction, and thus in operation. His most important announcement, however, was about the fifth frigate in this series, which according to Sayyari is 90% complete. This vessel, which is slated to be launched in 2017, has been named Sahand. According to Sayyari, the Sahand, which is the latest type of Iranian-made frigate, has 30% greater stealth capabilities compared to earlier models and is equipped with newer weapons.

Although Sayyari did not specify the type of weapons that are to be placed on it, it is likely that this frigate will be equipped with the “Valfajr” torpedo system, surface-to-surface missiles with a greater range as well as close-in defense systems such as the Phalanx and Kashtan 3-M. Of note, an Iraqi Osa-class vessel came into Iran’s possession during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, and Iran has ever since unsuccessfully tried to reverse-engineer its close-in defense system.

This is not the first time that an Iranian navy commander has brought up the matter of an Iranian presence in the Atlantic Ocean. Indeed, the Islamic Republic has been preparing its naval fleet to be present in the Atlantic Ocean for the past three years. Iran faces three main issues in this regard.