Posted on 05/12/2019 4:20:01 PM PDT by Mariner
GENEVA, May 12 (Reuters) - A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Sunday the U.S. military presence in the Gulf used to be a serious threat but now represents a target, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported.
The U.S. military has sent forces, including an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers, to the Middle East in a move that U.S. officials said was made to counter "clear indications" of threats from Iran to American forces in the region.
The USS Abraham Lincoln is replacing another carrier rotated out of the Gulf last month.
"An aircraft carrier that has at least 40 to 50 planes on it and 6,000 forces gathered within it was a serious threat for us in the past but now it is a target and the threats have switched to opportunities," said Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the Guards' aerospace division.
"If (the Americans) make a move, we will hit them in the head," he added, according to ISNA.
U.S. President Donald Trump also has increased economic pressure on Iran, moving to cut off all its oil exports, to try to get Tehran to curb its nuclear and missile programs as well as end support for proxies in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.
Speaking to CNBC in an interview to be broadcast on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. deployments came in response to intelligence about potential Iranian attacks and aimed both to deter them and to be able to respond if necessary.
"We've seen this reporting," Pompeo said. "It's real. It appears to be something that is current, that is things we're worried about today."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.trust.org ...
They're fixin' to throw a tantrum. Followed by a full-on conniption fit.
Quick! Grab the camera!
These targets will shoot back
We’ve been d*ck dancing with these ragheads for 40 years. Way past time for an ass stomping.
This just shows that they are really scared, they can see that Trump means business, they can’t bamboozle him, as they did Obama.
Good.
The Mother of all nervous blowhards.
Okey Dokey Faizal.
I can certainly understand why Iran would feel that way.
We have allowed them to commit acts of war against us many times in the past with no repercussions. Even the great Ronald Reagan let them get by with murdering a huge number of our marines.
I do think Trump may just end that.
What a Maroon !!! What an Ignoramous !!!!
Reuters wants to hear a retarded U.S.A chant? I find that hard to believe. No sale.
The Iranians do have credible threats to the big blue water ships of the US Navy operating in the narrow shallow Persian Gulf. The Iranians have purchased state of the art Chinese made stealth shore to ship missiles. The Chinese developed these missiles to clear the Taiwan Strait of hostile naval elements in the event of war. BTW thanks to the Clinton administration, they feature a digitalized virtually impossible to jam American designed guidance system. Those missiles fortify the shores of the Gulf and have a flight time to target of less than thirty seconds. If fired in conjunction with an asymmetrical attack, their threat to sink a carrier in the Gulf is plausible.
Of course if they were to attack American ships, their entire nuclear infrastructure would be destroyed within an hour. However the treat to those ships and their young sailors is real.
Yeah sure it isn’t. You can think that in mind while you are being blown to bits.
Do we get to see the replacement for shock and awe?
I totally agree. We don’t fight wars anymore. Iran should have been wiped out in 1979.
“If fired in conjunction with an asymmetrical attack, their threat to sink a carrier in the Gulf is plausible.”
Everyone knows the price of a Carrier.
The nation ceases to exist.
Still, I don’t think they could SINK a US Carrier. Even if they hit it with 1/2 dozen of their missiles, disablement is the worst case.
But they still must pay the existential price.
“Do we get to see the replacement for shock and awe?”
It’s called Arc Light.
But it’s not as precise as Shock and Awe. It’s hard to be precise with 160 500lb gravity bombs. Instead one should envision mowing a lawn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Arc_Light
“”If (the Americans) make a move, we will hit them in the head,” he added, according to ISNA.”
This says if they are attacked they will hit back — which is expected behavior. Everyone has the right to self-defense. Nothing here folks.
Trump has shown he is quite patient and disciplined and won’t attack them first ... or NK for that matter.
However Trump has shown shown over and over that he fights back when attacked. He responds forcefully to even the smallest tweet so imagine how he would respond to someone attacking US ships. Surely they must know this.
Wake me when they start throwing babies out of incubators
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