Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Ayatollah Ali KhameneiReuters

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Tuesday appointed a new chief for the country’s navy, The Associated Press reported, citing state media.

According to the report, Khamenei appointed Adm. Shahram Irani as the new navy chief under the country’s army.

Adm. Irani was working as a senior army officer so far. He became successor of Adm. Hossein Khanzadi, who held the post since 2017.

In his decree, Khamenei urged Adm. Irani to improve the navy. No reason was given for the replacement, according to AP.

The Iranian navy is mainly in charge of operation in Sea of Oman and beyond in international waters, while the Revolutionary Guard oversees a separate navy in the Persian Gulf.

In the last few years there have been several close encounters between Iranian and American vessels in the Persian Gulf. The Revolutionary Guard typically patrols the shallower waters of the Persian Gulf and its narrow mouth, the Strait of Hormuz.

One such incident in May of 2020 included a tense encounter between US and Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf.

The US military said at the time that 11 Revolutionary Guards naval vessels from the Guards navy came close to US Navy and coast guard ships in the Gulf, calling the moves “dangerous and provocative”.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard acknowledged that the incident had taken place, but also claimed that it was American forces who sparked the incident.

In April of 2020, a spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces said that the Islamic Republic will respond “severely” if US vessels violate its territorial waters.