Commander: US Vessels in Persian Gulf Vulnerable to IRGC Speed Boats
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US Navy is beginning to shift its strategy of dispatching large warships to the Persian Gulf after Americans realized that their vessels are exposed to the speed boats of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), a senior Iranian commander explained.
The US Navy is after changing its previous strategy which entailed the presence of large warships in the Persian Gulf, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said on Sunday, and added, “They (US vessels) are vulnerable to the IRGC speed boats and sometimes to (marine) mines.”
Speaking on the sidelines of military parades on the occasion of the Sacred Defense Week, the Iranian commander said, “Today, the American warships sail through the international waters with caution, and do not dare approach Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.”
He also asserted that US forces are very conscious of Iran’s high deterrent power in the region, arguing that although the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz have definite entryways and exit routes, American naval forces enter the Persian Gulf from the exit passages.
Rear Admiral Fadavi then described such a move as a “humiliation” for the US.
“Today, Americans and their allies in the Persian Gulf do not even dare think about firing a single bullet,” the commander added.
In relevant remarks on August 17, Fadavi had announced that enemies and even world powers are aware of Iran's defense capability and power of deterrence and shy away from military confrontation with the IRGC naval forces in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
“Given the realization of the IRGC Navy’s deterrence strategy, the enemies, even world-class ones, are now really afraid of military confrontation with us in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and refrain from it (confrontation)," he said at the time.
Iran is now the main power providing security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, ensuring the safe passage of energy supplies through the strategic region.
The Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman, connects the Persian Gulf with the Sea of Oman.
It is the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the high seas and is one of the world's most strategically-important choke points.
Nearly 40 percent of the world's traded crude oil also passes through this waterway.
