Iran fired a missile from a military helicopter into a mock U.S. aircraft carrier in a show of belligerence.
State-run news media reported about the live-fire drill on Tuesday. The ship, estimated to be about 650 feet long and 160 feet wide, was photographed being dragged out into the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. It was previously docked in Bandar Abbas, a port city located on Iran’s southern coast.
Video released by the Iranian government from the mock attack, an exercise called “Great Prophet 14,” showed a helicopter firing a missile into the side of the ship. Commandos were also seen climbing down the rope of a hovering helicopter and boarding the vessel. Missiles were also fired from trucks on land.
“Our policies to protect the vital interests of the dear nation of Iran are defensive, in the sense that we will not invade any country from the beginning, but we are completely aggressive in tactics and operations,” Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said, according to the Associated Press. “What was shown today at this exercise at the level of aerospace and naval forces was all offensive.”
The model carrier itself is smaller than the Nimitz-class Navy aircraft carriers it appears to be designed to look like.
President Trump said in April that he ordered the U.S. Navy to destroy any Iranian boats that harass U.S. Navy vessels. The order came after an incident involving Iranian vessels aggressively approaching U.S. ships in the region.
Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, U.S. 5th Fleet spokeswoman, emphasized to the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that the United States is prepared for any acts of Iranian aggression in the Persian Gulf region.
“We cannot speak to what Iran hopes to gain by building this mock-up or what tactical value they would hope to gain by using such a mock-up in a training or offensive exercise scenario,” Rebarich said in a statement. “We remain confident in our naval forces’ ability to defend themselves against any maritime threat. We do not seek conflict but remain ready to defend U.S. forces and interests from maritime threats in the region.”
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high after reaching a fever pitch at the beginning of the year that began with a U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani. Iran then fired a barrage of missiles at Iraqi bases housing U.S. forces.
Iran’s state TV airs footage of the Revolutionary Guards firing a missile at a mock-up US aircraft carrier during an exercise.
WARNING: There will probably be more of this come October if the UN fails to renew the regime’s arms embargo.
CC: @USUN @RichardGrenell @MessageFromLen pic.twitter.com/zEopVrMVbz
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) July 28, 2020
