LINK TO REPORT The study’s main message is that based on its doctrine of naval warfare, the Iranian revolutionary naval forces have embarked on a fast-paced rearmament and re-equipment program during the past two decades, aimed at offsetting the U.S. Navy’s military presence in the Persian Gulf region. Ideologically, the mariner Guardsmen are as zealous now as ever about fighting against the Western navies in the Gulf and their allies, despite the presence of a slightly moderate government in Tehran and the maturation of a younger and more disenchanted population.