[3] On 2 June 2021, Kharg caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Oman near the Iranian town of Jask, some 140 kilometres (87 mi) from the Strait of Hormuz.

[4] Its original installed machinery included a pair of two-drum boilers built by Babcock & Wilcox, that rotated two Westinghouse geared turbine sets.

[10] Eric H. Arnett, a project leader at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), commented that Kharg could provide extra operational flexibility for the Iranian fleet and its capacity to carry large and heavy helicopters like the Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King could improve the anti-submarine warfare abilities of the naval group it belonged to.

He argued that in view of the sanctions against Iran, Kharg was potentially ideal for safe transfer of valuable or politically sensitive assets, such as imported military equipment, gold or currency.

[21] Swan Hunter declared that it was uninvolved in any political implications and considered building Kharg a "straightforward commercial contract".

[5] Kharg left the dock for Iran on 5 October 1984,[27] after the British government approved its export without any armaments[5] on the grounds that it was "not suitable for use in the war against Iraq".

It was added to the order of battle in 1984 and served almost three years in the war, supporting Iranian warships by refuelling, and carrying ammunition and supplies.

[1] When US forces carried out Operation Praying Mantis in April 1988, the ship was stationed at its home port of Bandar Abbas Naval Base.

[31] On 31 August 2009, Kharg, along with the frigate IRIS Sabalan, formed the 3rd naval group and left home for an anti-piracy mission in the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden that lasted 73 days until 17 November 2009.

[28] During its next, similar mission it sailed about 1,900 nmi (3,500 km; 2,200 mi) to support the same warship as part of the 7th naval group for 92 days, from 17 March to 17 June 2010.

[28] Kharg entered the Suez Canal on 22 February 2011, with the frigate Alvand, on a deployment reported to be a training mission to Latakia, Syria.

[13] The two ships, which comprised the 12th naval group, were on a mission from 27 January until they returned home on 21 March 2011, and in the Red Sea they saved a Hong Kong merchant vessel from Somali pirates.

[34] It was sent along with the corvette IRIS Naghdi of the 18th naval group on a combined mission involving anti-piracy, training and intelligence collecting activities, lasting for 64 days from 22 January to 26 March 2012.

[35] The two also engaged Somali pirates during the mission and released two hijacked merchant vessels in April, including the Bolivian-flagged bulk carrier Eglantine (whose deck was cleared by commandos), as well as the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship Xiang Hua Men.

[37] As the very first IRIN vessels to enter the Pacific Ocean, Kharg and the frigate Sabalan were named the 24th naval group and made a 13,500 nmi (25,000 km; 15,500 mi) journey to Jinjiang, China.

[39] Bellingcat reported that satellite imagery showed Kharg being moved to a floating drydock in August 2015, having been berthed at the ISOICO shipyard, Bostanu, since November 2014.

[28] On 8 December 2018, Kharg was teamed up again with the frigate Alvand as the 59th naval group and departed for an intelligence collection and escort operation in the Gulf of Aden.

[28] Kharg was tasked to support the newly-commissioned IRIS Sahand in its first oceangoing mission, including tanker escort and maritime patrol in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.