Iran Flexes Muscle, Sends Submarines to Red Sea

Iran has sent submarines to the Red Sea in the first such deployment by the country's navy in distant waters, a semi-official news agency reported today. The deployment reflects Iran's efforts to show off its naval power. The Fars news agency said the submarines would collect data in international waters and identify warships of other countries. It gave no details on the number or capabilities of the submarines.

Iran has long had three Russian-made submarines, and four new small Iranian-built submarines were delivered to its navy last year. The four were said to be Ghadir class subs, which can fire missiles and torpedoes and at the same time are capable of cruising in shallow waters, such as those of the Persian Gulf off the Iranian coast. Click to read about hackers' recent strike at an Iranian government website. (More Iran stories.)