In the latest incident underscoring the Iranian regime’s ongoing struggles with its military infrastructure, the Iranian warship Sahand capsized while undergoing repairs at a shipyard near Bandar Abbas. This event adds to a series of high-profile mishaps that raise questions about the regime’s self-proclaimed military prowess.
The official news agency IRNA reported that while the Sahand was being repaired at the dock, it lost balance due to water ingress. Although the Navy claimed the vessel quickly regained stability, the incident still resulted in several minor injuries, with injured personnel being transported to the hospital. The exact timing of the incident remains undisclosed.
State-run media have published images of the capsized ship, attempting to downplay the severity by comparing it to similar incidents worldwide. For instance, the state-run Entekhab website cited the sinking of the U.S. Navy’s USS The Sullivans at a dock two years ago, suggesting such accidents are not unprecedented.
Fars News Agency reported that the mishap occurred near a ship repair complex close to Bandar Abbas, speculating that the issue might have stemmed from a problem in the ship’s ballast tank or water infiltration during the repair process. This incident follows other significant naval failures, drawing attention to the regime military’s ongoing issues.
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Three years ago, the Sahand, along with the Makran warship, participated in a naval parade in the Baltic Sea to commemorate the establishment of the Russian Navy. In 2019, Habibollah Sayyari, the Chief of Staff of the regime’s Army, announced the deployment of the Sahand to the Gulf of Aden as part of a long-term mission. The previous December, the Sahand, touted as the “most advanced destroyer in West Asia,” joined the Southern Fleet of the Iranian Navy at Bandar Abbas.
Sayyari boasted about the Sahand’s updated torpedo launchers, various anti-aircraft and anti-surface guns, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missile systems, point-defense systems, and anti-submarine warfare capabilities. However, these claims stand in stark contrast to the frequent failures and mishaps the Iranian Navy has faced.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of military failures. The regime has experienced numerous setbacks in its navy, missile, and aerial forces. For instance, in 2020, an Iranian missile accidentally struck a support vessel during a naval exercise, resulting in 19 deaths and 15 injuries. According to a report from the New York Times, “Over the past 11 years, 67 percent of Iranian orbital launches have failed, compared with a 5 percent failure rate worldwide for similar launches, according to data from publicly available records.”
Despite the regime’s efforts to portray itself as a formidable military power, these incidents reveal a starkly different reality. The continuous failures in maintaining and operating military hardware expose the regime’s underdevelopment and lack of preparedness.