Iran Stages Attack On Mock US Warship In Gulf

Iran has staged a series of military drills, including a simulated attack on a US aircraft carrier, on one of the most strategic stretches of water in the Gulf.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard launched the display of naval and air exercises near the Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world’s oil supply passes.

Video on Iranian TV showed the deployment of fast boats and missiles against a replica of an American carrier - something not seen before in military drills.

Other exercises included the shooting down of a drone and planting undersea mines.

The unit's navy chief Admiral Ali Fadavi said: "American aircraft carriers are very big ammunition depots," explaining that a direct hit could create huge secondary explosions.

Chief Commander General Mohammed Ali Jafari explained that the exercise - dubbed Great Prophet 9 - sent a "message" to "extraterritorial enemies", in reference to the United States.

The television footage also panned across a banner showing the words: "If the Americans are ready to be buried at the bottom of the waters of the Persian Gulf, so be it."

But a spokesman for the US Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain downplayed the threat, saying he was "confident of our naval forces' ability to defend themselves".

Commander Kevin Stephens added: "It seems they've attempted to destroy the equivalent of a Hollywood movie set."

The US is currently in negotiations with Iran over a potential nuclear deal, alongside Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.

Tehran has always denied Western claims that it intends to develop atomic bombs.

Talks are due to resume in Geneva next week after a meeting between Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Sarif and the US Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.

A framework agreement between the two sides is hoped for before the end of March with all eyes on a final deal by 30 June.