News / Defense

Iran to drown US warships if threatened: IRGC

Tuesday, 10 May 2016 8:21 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 10 May 2016 8:37 AM ]

IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi

A commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that his forces would drown American warships should they pose the slightest territorial threat to the country.

“Wherever the Americans look in the Persian Gulf, they will see us,” Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, commander of the IRGC Navy, said in remarks on state television on Monday night.

“They know that if they commit the slightest mistake, we will drown their vessels in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, or the Sea of Oman,” he added.

The commander further highlighted the Navy’s defense might, saying Iran's enemies are only aware of a small fraction of the country's military capabilities.

The IRGC has underground facilities housing surface-to-sea missiles and vessels, Fadavi noted.

The vessels would thus be headed to the sea from those facilities instead of jetties, which would lower their susceptibility to attacks, he said.

IRGC speedboats, he added, can travel as fast as up to 80 nautical miles per hour, more than double the speed of the fastest American ones.

“Today, there are around 60 foreign military vessels in the Persian Gulf, most of which belong to the US, France and Britain. The vessels are monitored by the IRGC every hour,” said the official.

“The IRGC also enjoys intelligence superiority over their aerial capabilities. They themselves know that well.”

Fadavi also criticized a recent resolution in US Congress against Iran’s activity in the Persian Gulf, saying neither the US administration nor other international players are in the position to meddle in this issue.

Iran has in recent years conducted major military drills to enhance the defense capabilities of its armed forces and to test modern military tactics and state-of-the-art equipment.

Earlier this month, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei rebuffed the US government’s demands that Iran not hold military drills in the Persian Gulf.

“The Persian Gulf coast and much of the coasts of the Sea of Oman belong to this powerful nation; therefore we have to be present in this region, [stage] maneuvers and show off our power,” the Leader said.

In late January, the IRGC arrested 10 US Navy sailors after their boats reached three miles into the waters surrounding the Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf.

The IRGC placed the forces into Iranian custody, but released them after Americans apologized for the incident.

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