On Line: 25 February 2015 17:51 In Print: Thursday 26 February 2015
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TEHRAN – On Wednesday, the Naval Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps carried out a new round of exercises dubbed Payambar Azam 9 in the Persian Gulf and the strategic Strait of Hormuz.As the main part of the drills, the naval forces successfully targeted a model U.S. aircraft carrier.The 202-meter long model aircraft carrier built by the IRGC Naval Force was attacked from all sides with several hundred rounds of rockets and missiles.Four hundred rounds of 107-millimeter rockets as well as rounds of the domestically-made Nasr missile were launched at the watercraft from the IRGC’s fast attack boats.The naval forces also successfully tested two helicopter-shot high-precision air-to-surface cruise missiles.The drills were held at the presence of Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani, IRGC Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari, Joint Chief of Staff Deputy Commander Gholamali Rashid, IRGC Aerospace Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, IRGC Naval Force Commander Hossein Fadavi, and a host of other high-ranking officials.Fadavi had previously said it would take IRGC naval forces less than one minute to destroy a U.S. watercraft.Speaking on the sidelines of the drills, Larijani stated that world powers cannot change developments by increasing their presence in the waters in the region.He maintained that Iran is willing to share its military knowhow with neighbor countries in order to safeguard the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.Mining operations were also carried out by around 30 watercraft in the Strait of Hormuz.On mining operations, Fadavi said Iran possesses such advanced naval mines that U.S. officials cannot even imagine.“Mining is the main concern for Americans,” he maintained.A number of mock UAVs were also destroyed by shoulder-fired missiles and missiles installed on fast attack boats as another part of the drills.The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most strategic oil checkpoint as it passes through over 35 percent of the world’s seaborne oil trade and over 20 percent of the world’s total oil trade.SP/PA
