A handout photo made available by the Iranian Army office on Feb 17, 2021, shows Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Russian soldiers taking part in a drill simulating taking over a hijacked ship, during joint naval drills between Iran and Russia in the northern Indian Ocean. (PHOTO / AFP)

TEHRAN - Iran's Defense Ministry will equip the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) with light and semi-heavy indigenous submarines, Rear-Admiral Amir Rastegari, head of the Marine Industries Organization of the ministry, said on Monday.

Manufacturing of the submarines will begin this year and the IRGC will be equipped with submarines as the Iranian Arm's Navy, Rastegari told official Islamic Republic News Agency.

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In order to protect interests at the sea, Iran needs to develop powerful naval forces, he said.

Lauding domestic capabilities for building the defense equipment, he said that the reliance of the Iranian armed forces on foreign countries in the marine industry has reduced to 20 percent nowadays.

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