In an interview with Mehr news agency, Head of Iranian Defense Ministry’s Marine Industries Organization Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari (photo) said his country will start construction of a 6,000-ton destroyer in the current Iranian calendar year 1399 (ending on March 20, 2021).

He also informed that under JCPOA, Iran has both the permit and the capability to improve its submarines by making them run on nuclear fuel, but currently, doing so is not on agenda.

“Iran Maritime Industries Organization is running a project on construction of heavy destroyers, which is a joint project between the body and Ministry of Defense,” he said. 

“In the Defense Ministry we are working on the construction of a 6,000-ton destroyer in the long-run. Executive preparations of the project will commence this year,” he said

“The destroyer will provide defense ministry with a longer presence in international waters and oceans with defense and passive defense capabilities, guaranteeing the strategic role of the Defense Ministry,” Rastegari added.

Destroyers and giant submarines will become a major part of the Iranian Navy’s flotilla in the near future. 

The country has made considerable progress in the field of marine vessels, especially in the design and manufacture of submarines and destroyers, Mehr noted.

According to Commander of Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, Iran ranks first among Persian Gulf littoral states in producing marine equipment.