Iranian Army

On 9 May 2026 the Iranian Army issued a formal warning to states that comply with US-led sanctions against Iran, stating that their commercial shipping would not receive special protection in the Strait of Hormuz during any closure operation. The statement was significant because it came from the conventional Iranian Army rather than the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, the force that has historically conducted Hormuz harassment operations. That distinction matters: the Iranian Army operates Iran's land forces, air force, and navy separately from the IRGC, and its involvement in Hormuz signalling indicated a broader institutional consensus within Iran's military establishment behind the deterrence posture.

The Islamic Republic of Iran Army (Artesh) is Iran's conventional military branch, distinct from the IRGC (Sepah), which reports directly to the Supreme Leader. The Army comprises four main branches: Ground Forces, Air Force (IRIAF), Navy (IRIN), and Air Defence Force. Its ground forces total an estimated 350,000 active personnel, with a further 350,000 in reserve. The IRIN is the Navy that primarily patrols the Caspian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, while Hormuz and Gulf operations are predominantly the IRGCN's domain. The Army and IRGC are parallel structures that have historically competed for budget, influence, and operational authority, though the Supreme Leader uses both.

The 9 May 2026 warning was framed in terms of sanctions compliance rather than nationality, targeting the economic behaviour of states rather than their flags. This framing was legalistic and calibrated: it positioned Iran as responding to economic coercion rather than initiating hostilities, and directed the threat at the incentive structure of neutral states contemplating continued sanctions compliance rather than at direct US adversaries. The Iranian Army's choice to issue this warning publicly, rather than through back-channel communications, was a deliberate escalation of Hormuz pressure at the diplomatic moment of the MOU Deadline. On 10 July, the Army's general staff named its first individual dead of the current wave: Sergeant Ali Moeinni and First Seaman Shahab Omidi, killed in a strike on Shahid Yasini Air Base in Bushehr province, distinct from eight regular-Army losses already reported at Bandar Abbas and Bushehr on 8-9 July.