In an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN) television on Saturday, Ali Fadavi, the commander of Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran, threatened to sink US Navy vessels.
“The actual information that the Americans have about us is much less than what they think they have. When will they figure this out? When it is too late,” Fadavi said, according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
“They will definitely figure it out when their ships are sunk, or when they find themselves in a catastrophic situation.”
Fadavi also announced his intention to broaden the operating sphere of the Iranian navy.
“We have been present in Gulf water and Sea of Oman for a long time, and in the future we will have presence in international waters,” Fadavi said.
Fadavi has threatened the US Navy in the past. In May 2014, he announced in an interview with FARS news that his navy had been training for this purpose and could sink a US aircraft carrier in less than a minute.
In February 2016, Fadavi received the Fath medal for arresting United States Navy sailors on January 12, 2016 after two riverine command boats became disabled in the Persian Gulf.
Tensions between Iran and the US are rising as a deadline set to revise the nuclear agreement with Iran approaches. The May 12 deadline was set by US President Donald Trump for the European nations who signed on the Obama-brokered agreement. Trump would like stricter controls on Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program and stronger inspections of their nuclear facilities. He has threatened to pull out of the agreement if these conditions are not met.
Iran does not want the agreement to be revised, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned the US not to pull out of the agreement.
“I am telling those in the White House that if they do not live up to their commitments, the Iranian government will react firmly,” Reuters reported Rouhani as saying on Tuesday. “If anyone betrays the deal, they should know that they would face severe consequences.”
Iran has threatened to re-initiate its nuclear weapons program if the US backs out of the deal.
