Iran claims its military controls the Persian Gulf

Blake Stilwell
Apr 29, 2020 3:50 PM PDT
1 minute read
Navy photo

SUMMARY

“Everything north of the Strait of Hormuz is under our control,” said Ali Fadavi, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. If that’s true it would mean the Islamic Republic controls the flow of one-fifth of the world’s oil p…

"Everything north of the Strait of Hormuz is under our control," said Ali Fadavi, a senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps. If that's true it would mean the Islamic Republic controls the flow of one-fifth of the world's oil passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran also says it controls the American Navy.


Let's see how that works out for Iran.

"American battleships in the region are under the complete control of Iran's army and the Revolutionary Guards," Fadavi told Fars News Service, without providing any further details. While Iran isn't going anywhere near the recent rocket attack that struck the Green Zone just a few days before the IRGC Navy commander made the statement, the provocations against American forces in the region appear to continue.

Meanwhile, the United States is increasing its presence in the Gulf region, sending bomber aircraft along with three more ships to bolster its forces. The Pentagon is also weighing a plan to deploy five to ten thousand more troops to the region.

The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group entered the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf in 2016

Iran has approximately 20,000 men from the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stationed in and around the Persian Gulf, manning missile boats, torpedo boats, and even speedboats. Of most concern to the ships of the U.S. navy and its allies, however, is the number of coastal and aircraft-fired anti-ship missiles in the region. On top of the IRGC's naval assets are the approximately 15,000 men and Marines aboard the the dozens of more traditional ships – frigates, destroyers, corvettes – in the Gulf.

As for the buildup of American troops in the Gulf, Iran recently said the power posed by the force have turned from threats to targets.

"If (the Americans) make a move, we will hit them in the head," A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander told the Iranian Students' News Agency .

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