• Military

• WMD Menu                           

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Iran sends navy to US border, Pentagon doubts it

9 February 2014, 18:14

The United States does not believe that Iran really sent its warships to American shores. An unnamed source at the Pentagon said they have no concern about it. Meanwhile, the commander of Iran's northern fleet, Admiral Rezai Haddad announced that ships of the country's naval forces have already begun their journey to the Atlantic Ocean through the waters around the coast of South Africa.

Tehran makes loud statements that are not corroborated by any other sources except its own. The Iranian warships are sent in the Atlantic as a message to Washington, Admiral Haddad said. This is Iran's response to the increasing presence of the US Navy in the Persian Gulf. In the past, Iran repeatedly made such bellicose statements against the United States. However, later it always turned out that they had nothing to do with real state of things. So, even now the Iranian demarche serves only to warn Washington that there is still tension between the two countries, director of the Institute for Strategic Assessments Ivan Konovalov says.

'Such a step sends two different messages - the first one goes to the US, the second one is meant for internal use in the region. It is designed to help Tehran raise stakes in the big game around the Middle East and the Persian Gulf, and to show that Iran is able to exert military influence on the situation. Iran is able to keep both its army and its fleet on track, if you choose to believe Tehran's claims. For now Iran has achieved what he wanted - this situation is discussed worldwide and it adds points to both military policy of Tehran, and to politics as such.'

The Iranian navy is definitely inferior to the American navy. But if they really moved warships into the Atlantic, then theoretically they can respond to possible provocations, senior scientist and expert on the problems of the Middle East at the Oriental Studies Institute of the RAS, Boris Dolgov said.

'Of course, you cannot compare the naval forces of the USA and Iran. The United States has a much more powerful navy. But Iran has a sufficient number of small warships, which can cause damage to both fleet and shore facilities in the United States, because they are armed with anti-ship missiles.'

It is unlikely that Iranian bellicose statements and even possible actions against the US can lead to a real military scenario. There are many reasons why the authorities of both countries are simply not interested in this. Namely, an agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, recently achieved in Geneva, the ensuing partial lifting of international sanctions against Tehran, and finally, an unexpected phone call from President Obama to his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani. Last September laid the ground to a thaw in relations between Tehran and Washington, the conversation was the first communication leaders of the two countries had since 1979.

All this seems to be painting a picture of Iran having almost friendly relations with the international community - and especially with the United States. But it is no secret that there is a fairly strong anti-Iranian lobby in Washington, which sees no advantages in the rapprochement with the Islamic Republic. It is possible that due to the actions of this lobby the State Department decided to expand the blacklist of companies cooperating with Iran. Tehran also has its proponents of the hard-line policy who oppose to any compromise with the West. To conclude, the Iranian warships in the Atlantic, imaginary or real, are needed to maintain both countries in combat readiness.

Alexander Pelt

Source: http://voiceofrussia.com/2014_02_09/Iran-sends-navy-to-US-border-Pentagon-doubts-it-0499/