Iran announced that it will send warships into the North Atlantic Ocean in a move that is sure to stoke tensions with the United States.
According to Reuters, Deputy Navy Commander Touraj Hassani said that the armada would set out for the Atlantic in March. "The Atlantic Ocean is far and the operation of the Iranian naval flotilla might take five months," he said.
The flotilla is expected to include three warships bristling with weapons, including anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles.
The announcement comes amid tensions between the US and Iran after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
Last month, Iran’s navy said it acquired two new mini submarines designed for operations in shallow waters such as the Persian Gulf. The two Ghadir-class submarines have sonar-evading technology and can launch missiles from underwater, as well as fire torpedoes and drop marine mines, Iranian media claimed.
Iran often boasts of its military accomplishments, but the veracity of those claims is unclear. In December, a commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards threatened US bases in Afghanistan, the UAE and Qatar, as well as US aircraft carriers in the Gulf. These bases, he said, are within range of Iranian missiles which have a range of 700 km (450 miles).
The same official, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, claimed last year that Iran is in possession of what he described as the “father of all bombs” - a domestically-made 10-ton bomb with a high destructive power.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said recently Iran should increase its military capability and readiness to ward off enemies, which many took as a threat to the United States.