One of the major escalations of the war in Iran is its transfer to the Caspian Sea with the strike on the port of Bandar-i-Anzali on March 18. The Israeli strikes reportedly destroyed four Iranian combat ships, which were equipped with air defense and anti-submarine missiles, a corvette, and several other smaller vessels, such as coast guard vessels and auxiliary vessels.
An Iranian naval command center, which was responsible for coordinating Iranian naval activity in the Caspian Sea, was also hit, as well as infrastructure for repairing combat ships. The destruction of this command center means a degradation of the Iranian navy’s coordination capabilities in the Caspian Sea.
The destroyed warships did not directly threaten Israel, but the fact that they had air defense and anti-submarine capabilities represented a potential threat to Israeli aircraft operating in Iran. After the Israeli strikes, it is believed that Iran’s naval capabilities in the Caspian Sea have been largely neutralized.
This is a change in Israel’s strategy, as it now targets Iranian military infrastructure in wider geographical areas. The transfer of strikes to the Caspian Sea is also considered important due to its geostrategic position, as it constitutes an important intermediate space between the two major theaters of war, Ukraine and Iran.
The Caspian in the spotlight: The Russian-Iranian equipment corridor is targeted
This targets a key corridor for the possible transfer of equipment between Russia and Iran, further signaling that no point in Iran’s territory is safe, including the landlocked Caspian Sea.
The port of Bandar-e-Anzali hosts the most important base of the Iranian Navy’s Northern Fleet and plays a key role in maritime trade with Russia. Throughout the war in Ukraine, cargo has been transported between Russia and Iran from this port on ships without operational tracking systems, which carried Iranian drones, such as the Shahed, missiles, shells and bullets. The corresponding key Russian port connected to Bandar-i-Anzali is that of Astrakhan, while on the Iranian side the port of Amirabad is also important.
Ukraine had begun striking targets in the Caspian Sea since November 2024, with a drone attack on the Russian port of Kaspiysk in the Dagestan region, which damaged two Russian ships. In August 2025, a transport ship carrying equipment from Iran, including drone components, was hit.
Now the direction of the shipments is likely to have changed, with Russia returning the “aid” to Iran, including with Geran-2 drones, an advanced version of the Iranian Shahed, with better navigation and targeting systems. Moreover, the Iranians are said to be receiving information from Russia about important American targets throughout the Middle East, which are being struck by both drones and ballistic missiles. After the Ukrainian strikes in the Caspian Sea, it is now Israel’s turn to target Russian-Iranian trade. These strikes are seen as a first message to Moscow.
