Special to WorldTribune.com
The commander of Iran’s navy said that his forces were “awaiting orders” after Iran seized two U.S. patrol boats on Jan. 12 and that U.S. and French aircraft carriers “were within our range.”
“The USS Truman Aircraft carrier showed unprofessional moves for 40 minutes after the detention of the trespassers, while we were highly prepared with our coast-to-sea missiles, missile-launching speedboats and our numerous capabilities” and were ready to strike, Rear Adm. Ali Fadavi said on Jan. 13, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
Fadavi said his Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) naval forces were “awaiting orders” on whether to fire their coast-to-sea missiles at the USS Harry S Truman aircraft carrier, which together with France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier and additional warships were maneuvering near Iranian waters, uncertain over the fate of the 10 U.S. sailors detained by Iran.
“But we communicated an announcement through the international (radio) systems and prevented any further irresponsible moves by them,” Fadavi said. “Then they came to realize the IRGC Navy has the first and the last word in here.”
According to Fadavi, “the U.S. and France’s aircraft carriers were within our range and if they had continued their unprofessional moves, they would have been afflicted with such a catastrophe that they had never experienced all throughout the history.”
“They could have been shot, and if they were, they would have been destroyed.”
Shortly after the release of the U.S. sailors on Jan. 12, the IRGC released a statement admitting that the American patrol boats had entered Iranian waters by accident.
“Following technical and operational investigations and in interaction with relevant political and national security bodies of the country and after it became clear that the U.S. combat vessels’ illegal entry into the Islamic Republic of Iran’s waters was the result of an unintentional action and a mistake, and after they extended an apology, the decision was made to release them,” read the statement.
The White House on Jan. 13 denied it had apologized for the accident.
Iran: USS Truman was ‘within our range’ and made ‘unprofessional moves’ after seizure of U.S. boats added by Editor One on
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