Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired a missile from a helicopter at a US aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state television reported Tuesday, an exercise aimed at threatening the United States amid tensions between Tehran and Washington.
The exercises, called “Prophet Muhammad 14”, were held near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transportation route for one fifth of world oil production.
Images from war games broadcast on state television showed Guard air and naval forces preparing for an attack off the country’s southwest coast.
The speedboats crossed the water in formation before ground forces fired cannons and a missile was launched from a helicopter, leaving a trail of smoke before it seemed to crash into the side of the fake warship.
The Iranian maritime maneuver was organized at a time of intense tensions between Iran and the United States.
The amphibian from the USS John P Murtha transport dock (LPD 26) is seen as it transits the Strait of Hormuz [File: Kyle Carlstrom/US Navy via Reuters]
The United States Navy condemned “Iran’s irresponsible and reckless behavior”, calling it an attempt to “intimidate and coerce”.
The US Navy 5th Fleet, based in the Gulf of Bahrain state, also criticized Iran’s use of the replica aircraft carrier.
“We are aware of the Iranian exercise that involves attacking a model of a ship similar to a stationary aircraft carrier,” its spokeswoman, Commander Rebecca Rebarich, said in a statement emailed to the AFP news agency on Tuesday.
“The United States Navy conducts defensive exercises with our partners to promote maritime security in support of freedom of navigation; while Iran conducts offensive exercises, attempting to intimidate and coerce.”
An MV-22 Osprey aircraft is seen on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz [File: Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters]
While the coronavirus pandemic has engulfed Iran and the United States for months, there have been growing signs of a confrontation as the United States has advocated extending an UN arms embargo on Tehran that will expire in October.
The war games came just days after Tehran accused American fighter jets of harassing an Iranian commercial plane over Syria.
At least four passengers on board the Mahan Air plane were injured in the incident on Thursday after the pilot took emergency measures to avoid the fighter jets, Iranian authorities said.
Tensions have risen between Tehran and Washington since United States President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the landmark Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
The two countries have been on the brink of direct confrontation twice since June 2019, when the Guard shot down a U.S. drone in the Gulf.
His animosity intensified after Iran’s most prominent general, Qasem Soleimani, was assassinated in the United States. drone attack near Baghdad airport in January.
One of the most recent confrontations was in mid-April, when the United States accused the Guard of using speedboats to harass its warships in the Gulf.
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