Iran is to deploy its newest warship to the Atlantic Ocean on a five-month mission — the navy’s longest in a decade, the conservative Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

“The navy has had a plan to deploy a flotilla to the Atlantic Ocean for a few years and now everything seems prepared to launch the mission,” said Fars, which is considered close to Iran’s military.

Rear Admiral Touraj Hassani-Moghadam told the official IRNA news agency on Friday that the mission would start early in the next Iranian year, which begins in late March.
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The flotilla will comprise the new guided missile frigate destroyer escort Sahand, which was unveiled just last month, and the recently upgraded 33,000-ton fuel ship Kharg.

The vessels are expected to dock in a friendly Latin American country such as Venezuela, Fars said.

The ships are among Iran’s largest and both are capable of carrying helicopters.

The Sahand is a more advanced version of the Iranian-built Jamaran class which went into service over the past decade.

It is a radar-evading stealth ship capable of electronic warfare, Rear-Admiral Alireza Sheikhi told IRNA last month.
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