Iran Navy fires cruise missiles in first major strategic exercise after Israel war.

According to footage published by an Iranian state television channel on August 21, 2025, Iran’s conventional naval forces have launched a major exercise named “Sustainable Power 1404” in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean. This marks the first officially declared military drill since the June 2025 conflict with Israel, a 12-day confrontation that left Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and air defense network severely damaged following a coordinated Israeli air and missile campaign. Broadcast on Iranian state media and reinforced by imagery from the Army’s official outlets, the drill underscores Tehran’s determination to demonstrate resilience and maritime deterrence capabilities only weeks after a high intensity regional war.
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Iranian Navy vessels fire Qadir and Nasir cruise missiles during the Sustainable Power 1404 exercise. The Qadir, with a range of up to 300 km, is designed for precision strikes against large surface targets, while the shorter range Nasir, reaching about 90 km, provides rapid response and maneuverable engagement capability (Picture source: Iranian Army).

The exercise prominently featured the Moudge class frigate IRIS Sabalan and the missile launching vessel IRIS Ganaveh. These surface combatants executed live fire operations involving Iran’s indigenous Nasir and Qadir anti ship cruise missiles. The Qadir is a medium range sea skimming missile believed to have a strike envelope of up to 300 kilometers, designed for precision attacks against large surface vessels with improved radar evasion characteristics. The Nasir provides a shorter range option of approximately 90 kilometers but with high maneuverability and rapid response capability, allowing layered engagements in littoral and open sea environments. Both missile types were successfully employed against simulated maritime targets with coordinated support from coastal batteries, highlighting Iran’s ability to integrate sea based and land based assets into a single strike architecture.

Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, Commander of the Iranian Navy, declared that the main objective of Sustainable Power 1404 was to validate operational readiness under combat conditions. The exercise integrated electronic warfare countermeasures, UAV reconnaissance patrols, anti submarine tracking, and cyber electronic disruption missions. Naval units maneuvered across a broad corridor stretching from the Strait of Hormuz to the deeper waters of the Indian Ocean, underscoring Iran’s effort to extend its naval operations beyond littoral zones into a broader blue water posture.

Among the participating vessels, there is the IRIS Sabalan, a Moudge class frigate, displaces around 1,500 tons and is fitted with a 76 mm main gun, torpedo tubes, surface to air missile systems, and launchers for domestically developed cruise missiles. Its radar suite and fire control systems have been upgraded in recent years to allow integration with unmanned platforms and coastal missile batteries. The IRIS Ganaveh is a missile armed fast attack vessel designed for saturation tactics, carrying multiple launch canisters for Nasir and Qadir missiles, offering Iran a flexible rapid strike capability in contested waters.

This show of force follows the June 2025 conflict, during which Israel conducted an intensive campaign known informally as Operation Rising Lion. Precision strikes disabled Iranian nuclear sites at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan, as well as key air defense nodes, while targeted drone operations eliminated senior commanders and disrupted command structures. Iran retaliated with barrages of ballistic missiles and drones against Israeli cities including Tel Aviv, Haifa, and Beersheba. Strikes damaged critical infrastructure such as Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, forcing civilian evacuation and demonstrating the intensity of Iran’s counterattacks. The conflict eventually drew in the United States, which launched Operation Midnight Hammer, a series of strikes involving B-2 bombers and Tomahawk cruise missiles against underground nuclear facilities. A ceasefire was imposed after twelve days of escalation, leaving Iran militarily strained but politically defiant.

Against this backdrop, Sustainable Power 1404 is a deliberate statement of recovery and deterrence. By showcasing shipborne missile systems, coastal integration, electronic warfare resilience, and multi domain coordination, Iran seeks to project an image of restored operational credibility. The drill illustrates a gradual transition from coastal denial strategies traditionally associated with the Revolutionary Guard’s fast attack craft toward limited sea control and extended deterrence missions conducted by the regular Navy.

The significance lies in Iran’s continued investment in indigenous missile technology and naval modernization at a time of heightened isolation and economic pressure. The ability to synchronize frigates, missile boats, coastal batteries, and UAV reconnaissance platforms into a layered operational framework indicates a serious evolution in Iranian naval doctrine, aimed at maintaining relevance in contested waters of the Gulf of Oman, the Arabian Sea, and the wider Indian Ocean.

Iranian officials have outlined a strategic framework designed to sustain the country in the event of a protracted confrontation with Israel, emphasizing resilience over a potential decade of conflict. This vision, described in Tehran as a long-term deterrence plan, combines the strengthening of indigenous missile production, the hardening of underground launch facilities, and the expansion of naval and coastal strike networks capable of withstanding sustained aerial bombardment. At the same time, Iran seeks to rely heavily on its Axis of Resistance partners, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and allied militias, to extend the battlefield and disperse Israeli resources across multiple fronts. For the Iranian leadership, the capacity to endure a ten-year war is not merely about conventional force parity but about institutionalizing attritional warfare, proxy operations, and strategic depth in order to present Israel with an open-ended conflict that cannot be decisively concluded.