TEHRAN -- The Iranian Navy has been equipped with new missiles for air defense systems of warships, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said Sunday.
Rear Admiral Irani said his force employs its exclusive systems to launch naval surface-to-air missiles and has plans to upgrade them.
Efforts are underway to diversify the air defense systems of combat vessels, because air defense tactics involve various ranges of engagement, he told Tasnim news agency.
The admiral also outlined plans to manufacture new homegrown vessels and increase the number of submarines and logistical warships.
He said a series of contracts will soon be signed on construction of new heavy destroyers.
The Navy is developing a training warship called Loqman. Another homegrown military vessel, named Tala’iyeh, will join the naval fleet within the next year, he added.
The Damavand-II warship is also going to join the Navy’s fleet in the near future.
Admiral Irani further cited plans to strengthen the aerial capabilities of the naval forces with advanced drones with great flight endurance above the sea.
“Drones should be also effective in the amphibious operations. We are trying to utilize sea-based drones with appropriate operational capability in order to extend our operational range and intelligence dominance,” he said.
Dismissing Israel’s military threats against Iran, the commander of the Iranian Navy on Saturday said the occupying regime lacks the courage to confront the Islamic Republic militarily.
Iranian naval forces, with their domestically-manufactured equipment, can come forcefully to any water point and slap any enemy that harms its security, he told Yemen’s Al-Masirah news network.
“Threats, conspiracies, and sanctions have failed to bring the Iranian nation to its knees and the enemy has become powerless against the armed forces,” Irani added.
Israel has recently intensified its attempts to derail the upcoming Vienna talks on the removal of U.S. sanctions on Iran by continually publishing alarmist propaganda against Iran’s missile and drone capabilities.
A number of other former and current Zionist officials have either called on world powers to retain a threat of taking military action against Iran or urged the occupying regime to seriously consider targeting Iran’s nuclear sites.
“Independent strikes on nuclear sites, if Iran takes this path that endangers our existence, should and must be on the table — unequivocally,” former Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen told the Ynet news site.
In the interview, Irani said that Iranian naval forces have recently managed to sail 45,000 km while crossing three oceans and bypassing more than 50 countries without docking at their ports. “This depicts the power of the Iranian Navy,” he said.
Irani maintained that the Iranian Navy provides security for tankers and merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea and is able
 to quickly respond to any action by the enemy.
On Friday, Irani said his forces have managed to keep their equipment up-to-date despite the enemy’s conspiracies, threats, and sanctions.
“Iran is the only country whose navy has established security for its shipping lines independently and without the use of a fleet,” the Navy chief said.
The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces on Saturday warned the enemies and ill-wishers against any misadventure in the region, especially in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
“Otherwise, they will have to wait for the fire of rage and the determination that will force them to flee the region in disgrace,” Major General Muhammad Baqeri said in a message marking the occasion of the national Navy Day.
General Baqeri said sustainable security in Iran’s territorial waters and the deterrent power of the Iranian naval forces is the results of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s guidelines and the Iranian people’s support.
Iran’s top commanders have repeatedly warned the U.S. and its allies, in particular Israel, against any misadventure in the region.
The Islamic Republic has also reassured its neighbors that its military might does not pose any threat to them, and instead, is for defensive purposes.