Iran close to unveiling new destroyer

/By Azernews/

The construction of the Sahand destroyer is 90-percent complete and the watercraft will soon be ready to join the Iranian naval fleet, according to Iran's Navy Commander Habibollah Sayyari.

He said the destroyer has a stealth capability 30 percent greater than the previous models, Mehr news agency reported June 14.

The destroyer has recently been renamed Sahand from Moj-5.

Sayyari also commented on the drills that the Navy plans to stage during the current Iranian calendar year (to end March 20). He said that by February 2017, the Navy will have held 20 war games.

"The biggest of the drills will be held at the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean if the budget is passed," he noted.

Iran's Navy has recently been active as a show of power.

Sayyari has recently said the Navy will continue holding military drills in the Persian Gulf despite the US objections.

IRGC Lieutenant Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami in early March threatened the US with blocking the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world oil supply passes.

The US itself has been keeping its military bases in the area for decades.