Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro launched military exercises near the border with Guyana on December 28, following weeks of crisis between the neighbouring countries over the Essequibo region. Amid the growing tensions, it emerged that Venezuela is in possession of Iran-made combat boats. The news isn't surprising, given that Iran has provided the Venezuelan army with boats, drones, rockets and missiles for years.
For decades, Venezuela has tried to claim Essequibo, a 160,000 km2 territory that is part of neighbouring Guyana. Rich in petrol and natural resources, this region represents two thirds of the overall surface area of Guyana. About a fifth of Guyana’s population lives in this contested region.
Tensions over Essequibo ratcheted up in September after Guyana made a call for bids from oil companies to exploit the region.
The situation got worse after Venezuela held a controversial referendum on December 3, asking the population about its claim on Essequibo. Maduro then ordered the state oil company to issue licenses authorising Venezuela to exploit the resources of the contested region.
Though the leaders of Venezuela and Guyana declared in mid-December that they had agreed not to use force against one another, on December 28 Maduro launched military exercises that involved bringing around 5,600 troops to the border region with Guyana. He called it a "response to provocation" by the United Kingdom, after the British sent the warship HMS Trent to Guyana. Georgetown said that the patrol vessel was going to participate in planned routine exercises.
Rapid Iranian combat vessels
It’s in this context that a video appeared on social media in late December showing Iranian combat vessels known as "Zolfaghar boats" filmed at the Puerto Cabello naval base in Venezuela.
The Zolfaghar boats are considered to be fast patrol crafts and can reach up to 52 knots per hour (or 96 km/h). They aren’t the fastest combat ships, but they are comparable to those used by Western countries. The Venezuelan Navy already showed off last summer that they were in possession of Zolfaghar boats.
There isn’t anything surprising about seeing Iranian boats in Venezuela. Iran and Venezuela have long enjoyed a good relationship, especially after former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999. The two countries became even closer in 2005 when Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took office as both leaders were anti-American and populist.
Slowly but surely, the two countries have developed their military cooperation. Iran first provided Venezuela with weapons in 2008. Aside from the Zolfaghar boats, Iran has also provided Venezuela with drones, rockets and missiles. The FRANCE 24 Observers team has compiled a list of some of the Iranian weapons that Venezuela has in its arsenal after studying images shared by the army and media.
Iranian drones, rockets and missiles in Venezuela
1 - Drones
Exporting drones has become one of Tehran’s specialties. A number of armed groups in places like Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza use Iranian drones, as do countries like Russia, Syria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Tajikistan and Venezuela.
Read moreInside the arsenal: Iranian-sourced weapons used in Hamas and Islamic Jihad's Israel assault
ANSU-200
Though Venezuela claims that the ANSU-200 is “homemade”, it is actually a copy of the Iranian Shahed 161 drone from the Simorgh drone family. These drones are themselves copies of the American RQ-170 drone. ANSU-200 is a reconnaissance drone with what are known as flying wings.
ANSU-100
The ANSU-100 is an Iranian attack drone assembled in Venezuela using Iranian pieces. While Venezuela calls the drone the ANSU-100, its real name, in Iran, is Mohajer-2. Mohajer drones have been developed and made in Iran since the late 1980s.
ANSU
The ANSU is a small mobile reconnaissance drone called a “Yazdan”. Once again, it is an Iranian-made drone.
ANSU-500
This is an Iranian VTOL (vertical take off and landing) attack drone. It can carry four small bombs. Even though this model is called the ANSU-500 by Venezuela, its name in Iran is the “Shahin VTOL”.
Mohajer-6
The Mohajer-6 is a reconnaissance and attack drone that Iran has given to Venezuela. Even though it isn’t Iran’s most powerful attack drone, it can carry bombs or missiles.
2 - Missiles and rockets
Fajr-1 rockets and rocket-launchers
This is an old rocket launcher developed by Iran in the 1980s. Venezuela has equipped a number of its military vehicles and boats with this type of rocket launcher. The Fajr-1 is a 107 mm rocket. It can shoot more than eight kilometres. It’s an imitation of the “Type-63” Chinese rockets which were built in China in the 1960s.
Ghaem-1
Iran developed the Ghaem-1, which is a “Smart Miniature Bomb”. Weighing only 12kg, it can be carried by attack drones. It can hit targets between 12 to 40km away.
Nasr cruise missile
The Nasr is an Iranian short-range, anti-ship cruise missile, designed to be used from combat vessels. It can destroy small combat ships up to 35km away. Several images show that a number of Venezuelan combat ships are equipped with this system.
