TEHRAN- Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, called the naval Basij a “shadow navy,” where people, with their own vessels, can enter the battle.

Speaking at a conference on Tuesday, the commander said, “Our second phase is to spread Basij to the ocean and regions as far as Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.”

He pointed out that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution has termed the navy “a strategic force,” adding that the Navy is strategic in range, geography, and equipment. 

Admiral Tangsiri emphasized, "If we do not organize a navy in peacetime, we cannot use this force in wartime." 

“We need an elite and skilled force for naval operations,” he said.

According to Admiral Tangsiri, the sea is important and there should be a strategic view of the sea.

Referring to the imposed war of the 1980s, he reiterated, “We will not forget that when Abadan was under siege, we used people's boats and barges. In fact, cooperation with people enabled us to lift the siege."

In the end, he stated, “We concluded that this popular mobilization force (Basij) could be used even after the war, and by using this advantage, we could use more than 100 vessels in the flood that occurred in 2019.