Officials said the Iranian Navy began an eight-day exercise in the Gulf
on Thursday in what marked another demonstration of Teheran's military
capabilities against any U.S. strike. They said the exercise included the
use of fast patrol boats and tactical mini-submarines in the shallow waters
of the Gulf.
"During these maneuvers frigates equipped with missiles, warships,
air-to-sea missiles and sea-to-air missiles are being used as well as
tactical reconnaissance submarines," Iranian Navy commander Adm. Sajad
Kushaki said.
Officials said the Iranian Navy has been building a force of FPBs and
mini-subs that could overcome the superior firepower of U.S. destroyers
and frigates in the Gulf. The U.S. Navy has deployed two strike carriers in
the region, the largest show of force since the war against Iraq in 2003.
Iranian state television said the unidentified FPBs were equipped with
missile launchers during the exercise, scheduled to end on March 30. The
television said the Iranian Navy "showed its defensive power in protecting
the Persian Gulf."
Iranian television said the exercise, entitled "Power," was taking place
in the central and northern Gulf. The report said the Iranian naval
platforms contained indigenous equipment.
"If the United States starts a war against Iran, it won't be the United
States that finishes it," an unidentified Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps
Navy general told the official Iranian Student News Agency. "The Iranian
people will not allow a single American soldier to set foot on their soil."
