The Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) reported that a senior commander of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard said Sunday that U.S. military forces in the Gulf had been a major threat, but were now a target.
The U.S. military dispatched military forces, including an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bomber fleet, to the Middle East. U.S. officials said the move was intended to counter Iran's clear threat signals to U.S. troops in the region.
The Lincoln is another carrier to replace the one that changed its defense to evacuate the Gulf last month.
"In the past, an aircraft carrier with at least 40-50 planes and 6,000 people was a serious threat to us, but now it has become a target and the threat has turned into an opportunity," said Amirali Hajizadeh, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Air Force.
According to ISNA, "If [the United States] acts, we will attack it head-on," he added.
As a senior Iranian cleric said that "a missile can destroy" the U.S. Navy fleet, the U.S. Maritime Administration said Friday that Iran may target U.S. merchant ships, including oil tankers.
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