Amid spiking tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean – The Israel Project’s illustrated situation analysis as of Monday is here – Iran has announced the development and deployment of a new warship. The declaration, conveyed by Iranian state media, is unlikely to calm matters:

A senior Iranian commander announced on Tuesday that the country’s Navy has equipped its newly-overhauled warship, Lavan, with advanced weapons and radar systems to improve its performance and fire power. “Some repairs and changes have been made to the body as well as the sailing, sonar and radar systems, weapons and information-gathering sensors of the warship,” Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told reporters on the sidelines of a forum in the Northern city of Noshahr today. “The warship needed an overhaul and equipment with the state of the art and novel technologies and therefore the warship’s weapons have been modernized,” he added.

U.S. analysts contextualized Iran’s boasts as part of a broader strategy that has included threatening attacks on Israel. Those threats have been repeated and consistent.

The Israelis have responded by expanding defensive measures and emphasizing an overarching desire to stay on the sidelines of any conflict with Syria.

[Photo: Oscar Sosa / Wiki Commons]