This handout photo provided by Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official website via SEPAH News on November 19, 2020, shows a warship named after slain Naval commander Abdollah Roudaki, sailing through the waters in the Gulf during it's inauguration. (SEPAH NEWS / IRAN'S REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS WEBSITE / AFP)

TEHRAN - Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced on Thursday the entry into service of its warship Shahid Roudaki, a 12,000-ton multifunctional light fleet and helicopter carrier.

The commissioning was officially announced in a high-rank ceremony, attended by IRGC's Chief Commander Major-General Hossein Salami and IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, official news agency IRNA reported.

The commissioning was officially announced in a high-rank ceremony, attended by IRGC's Chief Commander Major-General Hossein Salami and IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, official news agency IRNA reported

"The main mission of the Shahid Roudaki ocean liner is to ensure the security of the country's naval lines, rescue and relief in special circumstances, and battle in special circumstances," Salami said.

According to the IRGC's public relations office's report on the commissioning, the warship has a weight of 12,000 tons, a length of 150 meters and width of 22 meters.

The ship is equipped with a three-dimensional phased-array radar, surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, highly advanced integrated electronic warfare systems, and 3rd Khordad missile systems.

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The military force compared the new ship to "a mobile sea-city ready to carry out ocean missions."

"This heavy vessel is a messenger of peace, friendship, brotherhood and security. It is unacceptable that our merchant ships and oil tankers are threatened in the high seas. It is our responsibility to secure these ships and we will do it powerfully," Tangsiri said in the event.

The IRGC’s naval fleet is mostly made up of small speed boats deployed close to Iranian shores and around the Strait of Hormuz. 

The Shahid Roudaki has all the necessary equipment and facilities to provide stable security for maritime transportation lines and give assistance to commercial and fishing fleets, according to the IRGC report.

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Iran has sent several shipments of fuel to its ally Venezuela this year in defiance of US sanctions.

With inputs from Bloomberg