On March 18, the IDF carried out an airstrike against the Bandar Anzali area on the Caspian Sea coast, northwest of the city of Rasht. Among other things, several ships (of the Iranian Army Navy) were hit. There is another site in the area that, to our understanding, has not yet been attacked. Approximately 40 kilometers northeast of the city of Rasht, in the town of Zibakenar (Zibakenar), is located the IRGCN (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy) Naval Academy, which serves as the main maritime training center for the Revolutionary Guards. The training center began operating starting in 2013. From 2017 onward, it has served as the central training base for the IRGC Navy and trains personnel in various professions, including ship crews, weapons systems operators, commando fighters, and similar roles. According to various reports, the Revolutionary Guards have trained relevant activists from the naval units of various proxies at the site: Hezbollah, Houthis, Shiite militias from Iraq, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It appears that in practice, the training for proxies was conducted by Unit 8030 in the Quds Force. These trainings lasted about half a year, in a dedicated, isolated, and modernized compound within the site. The training included anti-ship missile firing, diving, sabotage, laying naval mines, operating various vessels, and more. Unit 8030 specializes in maritime domain activities, and its personnel are responsible for training forces and developing the capabilities of the Shiite axis in the maritime field.(Note: Recent reports from March 18, 2026, confirm that the IDF conducted airstrikes in northern Iran for the first time in the ongoing conflict, specifically targeting Iranian Navy vessels at the port of Bandar Anzali on the Caspian Sea. This marked an expansion of strikes to northern Iran, based on Israeli Navy and military intelligence. No public reports indicate strikes on the Zibakenar IRGCN Naval Academy as of March 19, 2026.)
