[ALMASDARNEWS] The US military presence in the Gulf used to be a serious threat but now it is an opportunity, according to a commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
"An aircraft carrier that has at least 40 to 50 planes on it and 6,000 forces gathered within it was a serious threat for us in the past but now [...] the threats have switched to opportunities," Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC’s aerospace unit, was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA).
He also pledged that Iran will "hit Americans in the head if they make a move".
Separately, another IRGC commander, Hossein Salami, accused the US of waging psychological war in the Middle East, according to a parliamentary front man who summarised Salami’s address to the Iranian MPs.
"Commander Salami, with attention to the situation in the region, presented an analysis that the Americans have started a psychological war because the comings and goings of their military is a normal matter," Behrouz Nemati pointed out.
Separately, Al Jazeera quoted Salami as saying that it’s unlikely that the US will use its aircraft carriers against Iran.
He argued that Iran’s defence capabilities are "adequate and sufficient", while the US aircraft carriers are quite vulnerable, which is why "Washington will not take a risk [using the carriers against the Islamic Theocratic Republic ]".
Salami’s remarks followed a statement by Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, commander of the US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, that he does not rule out sending the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz in light of Washington’s tensions with Tehran.
"If I need to bring it inside the strait, I will do so. I’m not restricted in any way, I’m not challenged in any way, to operate her anywhere in the Middle East," Malloy told Rooters. |