[3] The Navy aims to develop blue-water capabilities: in July 2016, it announced plans to establish a presence in the Atlantic Ocean,[6] and as of May 2021 has sent ships into the region.

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, ordered four modern general purpose destroyers from the United States and eight modified Kortenaer-class frigates from Royal Schelde, but both contracts were canceled after the 1979 Iranian revolution.

[17] On 29 April 2023 the Iran Navy seized a Marshall Islands flagged Suezmax tanker, the Advantage Sweet, laden with oil from Kuwait and bound for Houston, off Muscat.

[18] This seizure is in response to the U.S. seizing the Iran-origin cargo on the suezmax Suez Rajan off southeast Malaysia earlier in the month, which is now sailing to the U.S.[19][20] According to 'The Military Balance 2020' of the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), the inventory includes:[1]

Based on reports published by Flightglobal Insight and the IISS, as of 2020, Iranian naval aircraft inventory includes: In 1977, the bulk of the fleet was shifted from Khorramshahr to the new headquarters at Bandar-e Abbas.

Iran has also improved its ports and strengthened its air defences, while obtaining some logistic and technical support from states like India and Pakistan.

As regards other requirements, in December 1997, Rear Admiral Mohammad Karim Tavakoli, commander of the First Naval Zone, with HQ at the Persian Gulf port of Bandar Abbas, claimed that the Iranian Navy had completed design work on three multirole corvettes and a small submarine, to be built in Iran.

In August 2000, Iran announced that it had launched its first domestically produced light submarine or swimmer delivery vehicle, named the Al-Sabiha 15 because of its 15-meter (49 ft) length, in an official ceremony at the Bandar Abbas naval base.

During 2000, the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Aviation significantly improved its capability by taking delivery, from Russia, of a number of Mi-8 AMT (Mi-171) transport/attack helicopters.

The effort, which Iranian sources call Project Noor, covers the short-range C-701 and the long-range C-802 weapons developed by COSIC's China National Precision Machinery Import and Export Co subsidiary.

The possibility that a formal collaborative project was under way was first raised in 1998, when Iran displayed an Anti-Ship missile design similar to the 15-kilometer (9.3 mi) range C-701 shortly after the Chinese system was unveiled.

The ship was launched in the Caspian Sea to protect Iran's interests there and was mentioned among the achievements of the Iranian Navy by Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari.

According to Iran's Navy commander Admiral Kouchaki, Joshan has a claimed speed of over 45-knot (83 km/h; 52 mph)[3] and "enjoys the world's latest technology, especially with regard to its military, electrical and electronic systems, frame and chassis, and it has the capabilities required for launching powerful missiles."

In March 2006, the navy deployed a submarine named Nahang (Whale), with pictures broadcast by state media at the time showing a minisub.

In addition, the Iranian Navy has modernized and re-commissioned the 1,135-ton Bayandor-class corvettes; equipped with Noor anti-ship cruise missiles and torpedo launchers.

Another modern frigate named Sahand, with 2,000 tons displacement was being fitted up with weapons and equipment in Bandar Abbas naval base; and was planned for launch in 2013.

In July 2012, foreign analysts reported that Iran was gaining new deployment capabilities, allegedly to strike at US warships in the Persian Gulf in the case of an armed conflict, amassing an arsenal of anti-ship missiles while expanding its fleet of fast-attack crafts and submarines.

In weeks prior, Iranian leadership had been threatening to shut down shipping in the gulf region as retaliation for any attacks by the United States on its nuclear facilities.

"[30] Iran's navy deployed two warships to the Gulf of Aden in August 2019 to protect commercial shipping, including the destroyer Sahand and the supply ship/replenishment oiler Kharg.

[35] On December 30, 2019, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi acknowledged during a televised interview with the semi-official Mehr News Agency that the Iranian Navy conducted joint exercises with Russia and China and will continue to do so on an annual basis.