Revolutionary Guard attack vessel
with missiles and fast boats during
navy and air defence drills near Strait of Hormuz.
The drill, named Great Prophet 9, was
held near the Strait of Hormuz [AP]
RELATED
FEA
TURED
Iran's Revolutionary Guard has
launched large-scale naval and air
defence drills near a strategic Gulf
waterway in which dozens of
speedboats attacked a replica of a US
aircraft carrier.
The drill, named Great Prophet 9, was
held near the Strait of
Hormuz, through which one fifth of
the world's oil passes. Iran's regular
army carried out naval drills near the
strait in December.
State TV showed footage of missiles
fired from the coast and the
fast boats striking the mock aircraft
carrier.
The drills, which also included
shooting down a drone and planting
undersea mines, were the first
to involve a replica of such a vessel.
"American aircraft carriers are very
big ammunition depots housing a
lot of missiles, rockets, torpedoes and
everything else," the Guard's
navy chief, Admiral Ali Fadavi, said on
state TV, adding that a direct hit by
a missile could set off a large
secondary explosion.
Last month, Fadavi said his force is
capable of sinking US aircraft carriers
in the event of war.
General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the
Guard's chief commander, said the
drills send a "message of [Iran's]
might'' to "extraterritorial powers,"
a reference to the US.
Commander Kevin Stephens, the
spokesman for the US Navy's 5th
Fleet in Bahrain, said the Iranian
naval exercises began a few days ago
and have had no effect on maritime
traffic.
Stephens said the Americans were
monitoring the drills, but downplayed
the simulated attack on the carrier,
saying the US military was "not
concerned about this exercise".
"We're quite confident of our naval
forces' ability to defend themselves,"
he said. "It seems they've attempted
to destroy the equivalent of a
Hollywood movie set."
Iran is currently negotiating an
agreement over its disputed
nuclear programme with the US and
five other world powers. The two
sides hope to reach a framework
agreement next month and a final
deal in June.
Western nations have long suspected
Iran is covertly seeking a
nuclear weapons capability, charges
denied by Tehran.
with missiles and fast boats during
navy and air defence drills near Strait of Hormuz.
The drill, named Great Prophet 9, was
held near the Strait of Hormuz [AP]
RELATED
FEA
TURED
Iran's Revolutionary Guard has
launched large-scale naval and air
defence drills near a strategic Gulf
waterway in which dozens of
speedboats attacked a replica of a US
aircraft carrier.
The drill, named Great Prophet 9, was
held near the Strait of
Hormuz, through which one fifth of
the world's oil passes. Iran's regular
army carried out naval drills near the
strait in December.
State TV showed footage of missiles
fired from the coast and the
fast boats striking the mock aircraft
carrier.
The drills, which also included
shooting down a drone and planting
undersea mines, were the first
to involve a replica of such a vessel.
"American aircraft carriers are very
big ammunition depots housing a
lot of missiles, rockets, torpedoes and
everything else," the Guard's
navy chief, Admiral Ali Fadavi, said on
state TV, adding that a direct hit by
a missile could set off a large
secondary explosion.
Last month, Fadavi said his force is
capable of sinking US aircraft carriers
in the event of war.
General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the
Guard's chief commander, said the
drills send a "message of [Iran's]
might'' to "extraterritorial powers,"
a reference to the US.
Commander Kevin Stephens, the
spokesman for the US Navy's 5th
Fleet in Bahrain, said the Iranian
naval exercises began a few days ago
and have had no effect on maritime
traffic.
Stephens said the Americans were
monitoring the drills, but downplayed
the simulated attack on the carrier,
saying the US military was "not
concerned about this exercise".
"We're quite confident of our naval
forces' ability to defend themselves,"
he said. "It seems they've attempted
to destroy the equivalent of a
Hollywood movie set."
Iran is currently negotiating an
agreement over its disputed
nuclear programme with the US and
five other world powers. The two
sides hope to reach a framework
agreement next month and a final
deal in June.
Western nations have long suspected
Iran is covertly seeking a
nuclear weapons capability, charges
denied by Tehran.
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