Iran’s top naval officer Admiral Shahram Irani, the commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran's naval forces, arrived in Russia on Saturday to participate in a parade that marks the anniversary of the creation of the Russian navy, Iranian regime media said.
This is taking place in St. Peterburg, one of the traditional homes of the Russian navy. Russia’s navy also operates in the Black Sea and in the Pacific.
Iran’s decision to join with the Russians is more symbolic than important because neither countries have navies that can challenge the US or the West. According to Tasnim News in Iran, two missile-launching frigates of the Iranian northern fleet in the Caspian Sea have sailed to Russia.
The ships are confined to the Caspian so this visit appears symbolic as well.
Russia's difficulty projecting naval power
Russia has always had difficulty projecting power with its navy because the country is so large and its navy is hemmed in by being easily blockaded in places like the Black Sea, Murmansk, the Caspian or St. Petersburg.
This means that while Russia’s navy has a long and glorious history in some respects, it has also faced many challenges and disasters. One such disaster was the battle of Tsushima in 1905 during the Russia-Japanese war.
Russia mobilized a large fleet of some 40 ships to sail from the Baltic Sea all the way around Africa and India to reach Cam Ranh Bay in French Indochina to take part in the war effort. They travelled some 18,000 miles and it took more than half a year. Then the Russian fleet was destroyed by the Japanese off the coast of Korea with 5,000 killed. Russia’s navy has also seen other disasters such as the Kronstadt rebellion of 1921, the Kursk disaster and the Potemkin incident.
According to Iranian regime media reports, the Iranian admiral “Irani has traveled to St. Petersburg to participate in the parade of the anniversary of the formation of the Russian Navy with the presence of President Putin. The Commander of the Army Navy will meet and discuss with some of the naval commanders of the participating countries on the sidelines of this ceremony.”
Iran engaging in maritime diplomacy
Iran is engaging in “maritime diplomacy.” Iran has done the same recently in South America and elsewhere. This is Iran’s real accomplishment, more than its naval strength. Iran uses its few surface ships to engage in diplomacy and sometimes sell a few weapons, such as drones or pitch its fast boats to some countries such as Venezuela.
Iran’s admiral told the Russians that “every year we hold a joint naval exercise with the presence of Russian and Chinese naval forces in Chabahar port and Makran coast,” according to the report. “The Commander of the Navy stated: Our presence and our vessels in this year's parade is at the invitation of the Commander of the Navy of the Russian Army.”
For the Iranians, the naval events in Russia are an opportunity to meet with other countries and the Russians. Iran wants to sell more drones to Russia. Iran also wants some more trade from Russia in return.
Iran recently announced a new cruise missile for use at sea. Iran likes to boast of its new naval capabilities which it uses to challenge the US role in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.