IRGC Commander: Americans Acknowledge We Can Sink Their Aircraft Carriers

Ali Fadavi, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, stated that "U.S. military officials have acknowledged in their statements that they spend $13 billion on building an aircraft carrier, but the IRGC can sink it with fast boats." According to a report from Tasnim news agency on Sunday, January 28, Mr. Fadavi added that the IRGC "has presented a different theory for confronting the U.S. in the Persian Gulf, known as the 'fast boats approach,' thanks to the blood of martyrs and the grace of God," and mentioned that "the Americans also sought to adopt this approach after a while." The IRGC Navy commander emphasized that "our threat is no one other than the U.S.," adding, "The U.S. is not in a scientific position to threaten us, but they declare this verbally." In recent years, Iranian military commanders and state media have made numerous statements and reports about the capabilities of Iran's armed forces to destroy the U.S. Navy stationed in the Persian Gulf. For instance, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, head of the Basij Organization, compared U.S. aircraft carriers to "bathtubs," stating that these carriers "are as insignificant to our Basij forces as a can of tuna." Hussein Aryan, a military and strategic expert, described the IRGC commander's statements as "exaggerated" in an interview with Radio Farda. According to him, an aircraft carrier is not only equipped with sufficient defensive systems but is also accompanied and protected by numerous other ships and submarines equipped with additional defense systems. Mr. Aryan noted that IRGC commanders present an "exaggerated" view of their own capabilities while making an "incorrect" assessment of U.S. military capabilities.