Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has unveiled a new high-speed vessel the force says is capable of carrying a helicopter and up to 100 people, Iranian media reported on September 13.
The report follows increasing incidents of more than 30 close encounters between American warships and IRGC vessels in the Persian Gulf this year.
The catamaran-style ship is 55 meters long and 14 meters wide, carries a light civilian helicopter, and can reportedly achieve speeds of 28 knots.
On its side was painted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's call for U.S. forces to "Go back to the Bay of Pigs," in an apparent reference to the U.S. CIA's failed invasion of Cuba in 1961.
During the inauguration ceremony, IRGC navy chief Admiral Ali Fadavi denounced the American presence in the Gulf, saying it "is a cause of insecurity and lawlessness."
"The speedboat will add to Iran's deterrence power and will have an effect on the calculations of the enemy, particularly America," he said.
Fadavi did not say whether the ship was equipped with weapons.
The ship was built in Bushehr by Khatam al Anbia, a huge construction firm overseen by the IRGC, he said.
