The Shahid Mahdavi vessel crossed the equator and entered the Southern Hemisphere on May 4, 2024, Dryad Global highlighted in its latest Maritime Security Threat Advisory (MSTA), which was published this week.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy commands the Shahid Mahdavi, Dryad pointed out in the MSTA, adding that it is a “converted warship equipped with helicopters, combat drones, and fast attack craft”.
“This is the first time an Iranian warship has traveled to the southern hemisphere in this capacity. The converted container ship is outfitted with long-range ballistic and cruise missiles for long-range operations,” Dryad said in the MSTA.
“Iran’s naval presence in international waters and on the high seas has increased significantly as part of a strategy to project power beyond its territorial waters,” it added.
“The Shahid Mahdavi successfully launched ballistic missiles in February 2024. This operation has strategic and geopolitical implications, with the potential to shift the regional power balance. It demonstrates Iran’s ability to project power over long distances, which could deter potential adversaries,” it continued.
In the MSTA, Dryad said the mission demonstrates Iran’s willingness to use its naval capabilities to protect its interests and assert its influence in the region, “potentially changing other powers’ strategic calculus, including the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia”.
Dryad warned in the report that the Shahid Mahdavi could potentially disrupt commercial shipping, “particularly in support of the Houthis”.
“The vessel has participated in the launch of ballistic missiles and can transport a variety of attack drones and helicopters that could be used for Houthi missions,” Dryad said in the MSTA.
“The Houthis have a history of attacking commercial shipping in the region, and the presence of the Shahid Mahdavi in southern hemisphere waters suggests a possible role in these attacks,” it added.
In a flash brief posted on the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) website this week, Bradley Bowman, the Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power, said, “we have seen Iranian warships in the region before”.
“The Shahid Mahdavi is not exactly the most impressive vessel to ever sail the high seas, but its reported presence in the southern hemisphere is a tangible symbol of Tehran’s continued determination to sow insecurity beyond the Middle East,” he added.
FDD Senior Fellow Behnam Ben Taleblu said in the flash brief, “since 2021, Iran has been working to turn merchant vessels into long-range strike platforms that extend the distance of its existing drone, cruise missile, and ballistic missile arsenals”.
“The Shahid Mahdavi is at least the second such vessel to undergo such a transition and is certainly not going to be the last. Just as Tehran innovated with respect to its missile mastery to make up for a lack of manned aircraft, it is now trying to find unconventional means of projecting conventional power at sea,” he added.
FDD describes itself as a Washington, DC-based nonpartisan 501(c)(3) research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy. Dryad Global focuses on maritime domain intelligence. It describes its weekly MSTA as “a great place to capture the global maritime security situation”.
In a previous MSTA released on April 22, Dryad said recent reports indicate that Iran intends to disrupt operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
“The most recent incident, the seizure of the MSC Aries, demonstrates that Iran, despite being preoccupied with missile operations against Israel, continues to interdict and control vessel movement in the Strait of Hormuz, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea,” Dryad noted in that MSTA.
“While Iran has repeatedly stated that it has the capability to shut down the choke point, doing so has appeared unfavorable because it would enrage its neighboring Arab nations,” it added.
