Iranian frigate Sabalan Iranian frigate Sabalan Sabalan (in Persian سبلان) is a British-made Vosper Mark V-class (or ) frigate in the Iranian Navy. Commissioned in June 1972 as part of a four-ship order, the "Sabalan" was originally named IIS "Rostam", after Rostam, a legendary hero in the Shahnameh, but was renamed after the Islamic revolution for Sabalan, the Iranian mountain. During the Iran–Iraq War, the warship became infamous for attacks against the crews of unarmed and often neutral tankers and other merchant ships. Before these attacks, "Sabalan"s captain would often board the ships and pretend to carry out a friendly inspection, sometimes even
Iranian frigate Sabalan operation's objectives were to destroy two Iranian oil platforms used for drilling and attack coordination and one unspecified Iranian warship. On the morning of April 18, 1988, the oil platforms were knocked out. The U.S. forces then turned to look for Iranian frigates in the Strait of Hormuz, which joins the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. "Sabalan"s sister frigate was identified by aircraft from the aircraft carrier and drawn into a fatal engagement. Another group of A-6 Intruders was sent to the reported location of "Sabalan" in the strait, where, the frigate fired at the A-6s at 6.17