A senior Revolutionary Guard officer has said Iran can sink US warships with two new “top secret weapons”.
After weeks of escalating confrontation threatening a military conflict, both US and Iranian officials have taken a step back in the past two weeks.
But Morteza Qorbani (pictured), senior adviser to Revolutionary Guards commander-in-chief Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, said in an interview on Saturday: “In case of the smallest foolish act by the enemy in the Persian Gulf waters, the enemies will find out what we will do to them….The Americans should not play these games.”
He continued, “We have two new top secret weapons that can sink US ships if US forces do any foolish act.”
Qorbani did not give any details about the weapons.
The US has taken a series of steps to press Iran in recent week, complementing additional sanctions which include the designation of the Revolutionary Guards as a “foreign terrorist organization”. However, in a divided Trump Administration, officials have pushed back hawks from a direct military confrontation: they have emphasized economic measures and taking steps such as the deployment of another 1,500 US troops to the Middle East and a “national emergency” for $8.1 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Jordan.
Iran has also eased its rhetoric while declaring strength. The Supreme Leader said that the US, like Tehran, does not want war — albeit because of the Islamic Republic’s superiority. President Rouhani and other officials have echoed the message.
There was no further explanation for Qorbani’s statement, which cut against the assertion of a deputy commander of Iran’s military that war in the Persian Gulf is “absolutely unlikely.”
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif preferred to focus on the US on Saturday.
Reacting to the announcement of the additional 1,500 American forces, he said US claims against Iran are “fabricated allegations to justify beefed up US military presence in the region”. He continued:
The Americans have made such allegations to justify their hostile policies and to raise tensions in the Persian Gulf.
Increased US presence in our region is extremely dangerous and it threatens international peace and security, and this should be addressed.
Zarif framed Iranian resistance on Friday with the declaration, “Iran will see the end of Trump, but he will never see the end of Iran.”
You have been using your top secret weapons for 40 years and see what they have gotten you. I wouldn’t count on them to perform any better in future.