The city of Isfahan in central Iran was struck at 5am local time, with Israel reported to have targeted an air base near the city that also hosts some of Iran s nuclear research facilities
Iran became a fledgling ocean-going naval power in 2021, sailing a mini flotilla consisting of the Makran forward base ship and a destroyer around Africa, through the Atlantic to St. Petersburg, Russia. It repeated the feat last year, sending the Makran and another ship through the Pacific, into the Atlantic and around Africa before heading home.
Russia, Iran, and China are set to conduct joint naval exercises in the north Indian Ocean soon, according to Iranian Navy Commander Shahram Irani, as reported by the Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency on Feb. 5.