The Assad-class corvette were originally built for Iraq during the Iran–Iraq War, by Fincantieri in Italy.

They were completed just before Operation Desert Storm, and were never delivered due to embargoes by the Italian government.

The two remaining ships were laid up in La Spezia from 1990, but in 2005 it was announced they would be delivered to the New Iraqi Navy.

They eventually left La Spezia on a semi-submersible carrier Eide Trader on 22 May and reached Iraq in June 2017.

[citation needed] The Libyan Navy operated four craft but their fate is unknown.