Iranian officials had more than a dozen speedboats attack a replica of a US aircraft carrier today and featured the large-scale naval drill on a state TV broadcast.
The nationally-televised show of force by the country's elite Revolutionary Guard occurred near the strategically vital entrance of the Persian Gulf.
The 'Great Prophet 9' drill was held near the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil passes.
The televised show of force by Iran's Revolutionary Guard occurred near the entrance to the Persian Gulf
Iranian state TV broadcast images of the drill, 'Great Prophet 9', being carried out near the Strait of Hormuz
Iran's regular army carried out naval drills near the strait in December.
The staged attack comes just weeks ahead of a deadline for Iran and world powers to forge a historic deal on the fate of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
Iranian live-fire war games are not uncommon.
But by simulating for the first time an attack on the ultimate symbol of American naval power, hard-liners hoped to send a message that Iran has no intention of backing down to the US - whichever way talks over its contested nuclear program go.
The Guard's navy chief, Adm. Ali Fadavi, said: 'American aircraft carriers are very big ammunition depots housing a lot of missiles, rockets, torpedoes and everything else.'
He added that a direct hit by a missile could set off a large secondary explosion.
Fadavi last month boasted that his force is capable of sinking American aircraft carriers in the event of war.
He previously called carriers easy targets and said Iran naturally wants to sink them.
The Revolutionary Guard said it test-fired 223 mph underwater missiles during the Great Prophet 9 drill
The Great Prophet 9 drill featured 'speedboats equipped with naval radars, electronic communications systems, cruise missiles with a range of 25 kilometers, anti-ship medium-range missiles, medium- and large-caliber torpedoes, sea mines, heavy machine guns, rocket-launchers and shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles', according to Press TV said.
The Revolutionary Guard said it test-fired 223 mph underwater missiles during the drill.
Tensions near the Strait of Hormuz have caused oil prices to spike in the past - good news for producers like Iran.
But traders seemed to take today's maneuvers in stride, with benchmark US crude dipping slightly and continuing to hover below $50 a barrel by mid-morning.
State TV showed footage of missiles fired from the coast and the fast boats striking the carrier.
The drills also included Guard forces shooting down a drone and planting undersea mines.
Footage did not show that the assault had managed to sink the mock-up, but it was heavily damaged.
The Guard's chief commander, Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari,indicated the drills send a 'message of [Iran's] might' to 'extraterritorial powers,' a reference to the United States.
The spokesman for the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain, Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, said the simulated carrier attack was being monitored the US.
Stephens added the American military was 'not concerned about this exercise.'
He said: 'We're quite confident of our naval forces' ability to defend themselves.
'It seems they've attempted to destroy the equivalent of a Hollywood movie set.'
The US routinely stations at least one aircraft carrier and other warships in and around the Gulf.
It and its allies conduct periodic naval exercises of their own in the region, including ones aimed at countering the threat from undersea mines that could be used to block ship traffic through the strait.
The American aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson is currently deployed in the Gulf, as is the French carrier Charles de Gaulle.
Planes from both vessels are carrying out airstrikes against the ISIS, which has seized roughly a third of Iraq and Syria.
Iran backs Syria's government and is supporting Iraq in its fight against the militants, but it is not part of the US-led international coalition against the extremist group.
The drills were not publicly announced in advance, but the Guard has previously held similar military exercises around this time of year.
The last one, in February 2013, featured 'suicide drones' that attack enemies kamikaze-style.
The Guard, which has a 200,000-strong force, is different from the regular army and is charged with protecting the ruling system.
It also controls the paramilitary Basij militia, for which there are no precise personnel figures available.
Iran put the Guard in charge of defending the country's territorial Gulf waters in 2008 as Iran turned its attention toward beefing up its naval and air defense forces.
Iran is currently negotiating an agreement over its disputed nuclear program with the United States and five other world powers in exchange for relief from crippling economic sanctions.
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 Tehran denies.
In a speech today in the holy city of Qom, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for all sanctions to be lifted once a final nuclear accord is reached.
He said: 'Our opposite negotiating party has to know that the end of these talks and the result of a deal must be lifting of the entire oppressive and illegal sanctions.
'In the negotiations, we will not accept any imposition, humiliation or continuation of the sanctions.'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2968108/Irans-Guard-begins-military-exercises-near-key-strait.html
http://freebeacon.com/columns/why-bibis-speech-matters/
Iran cleric vows to 'raise flag of Islam on White House' to avenge Israeli attack
The cleric, Ali Shirazi, made the remarks to the official Revolutionary Guards web site.
close ties to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed on Friday that "we will raise the flag of Islam over the White House" in response to the killing of Hezbollah and Revolutionary Guards operatives on the Golan Heights last month.
According to foreign media, Israeli attack helicopters killed six Hezbollah terrorists along with six Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) operatives, including a high-ranking general.
Among the Hezbollah operatives killed in the strike was Jihad Mougniyeh, the son of Hezbollah's former military leader, Imad Moughniyeh, who according to Western intelligence sources, was in the midst of setting up a terrorism base on the Syrian Golan and plotting rocket attacks, bombings, anti-tank missile strikes, and cross-border infiltrations against Israel.
The cleric, Ali Shirazi, made the remarks to the official Revolutionary Guards web site. His comments were reported by the Saudi-owned news network Al Arabiya.
"The resistance front led by Iran would retaliate from the global arrogance of killing [Iranian officers] and Hezbollah men" on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, Shirazi said during a ceremony honoring Iranian soldiers who died in Syria and Iraq.
The cleric added that Iran continues to make its presence felt in a number of areas throughout the region, including Yemen, where a sect affiliated with Shi'ite Islam has overthrown a ruling government and taken power.
"The Islamic Republic directly supports the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq," he said.
According to foreign media, Israeli attack helicopters killed six Hezbollah terrorists along with six Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) operatives, including a high-ranking general.
Among the Hezbollah operatives killed in the strike was Jihad Mougniyeh, the son of Hezbollah's former military leader, Imad Moughniyeh, who according to Western intelligence sources, was in the midst of setting up a terrorism base on the Syrian Golan and plotting rocket attacks, bombings, anti-tank missile strikes, and cross-border infiltrations against Israel.
The cleric, Ali Shirazi, made the remarks to the official Revolutionary Guards web site. His comments were reported by the Saudi-owned news network Al Arabiya.
"The resistance front led by Iran would retaliate from the global arrogance of killing [Iranian officers] and Hezbollah men" on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, Shirazi said during a ceremony honoring Iranian soldiers who died in Syria and Iraq.
The cleric added that Iran continues to make its presence felt in a number of areas throughout the region, including Yemen, where a sect affiliated with Shi'ite Islam has overthrown a ruling government and taken power.
"The Islamic Republic directly supports the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon and Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq," he said.
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-cleric-vows-to-raise-flag-of-Islam-on-White-House-to-avenge-Israeli-attack-392445?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
2014 worst year ever for terrorism: U.S. intel chief
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wrost-year-global-terrorism-2014-article-1.2130490
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