Iran establises voluntary naval force in Caspian

Iran has established a voluntary Basij naval force, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri said.

"Guided by past experience in conducting maritime operations to free ships seized by pirates, we have concluded that it is necessary to establish a separate Basij unit to carry out maritime missions," Tangsiri said.

According to the commander, the unit has already recruited 55,000 members and has 33,000 small vessels that are equipped with 107mm missiles, Tasnim reported.

"At first, it will operate in the Persian Gulf, but there are also plans to establish such a unit [for missions] in the Caspian Sea," Tangsiri said.