Launch of an Iranian Fajr-3 MRBM. (Photo : IRGC)
Iranian bombast is reaching dangerous levels with Iran now boasting it can smash the United States Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain and Tel Aviv, Israel's capital, with its ballistic missiles within minutes.
"If the enemy makes a mistake, our roaring missiles will hit their targets," said Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, during massive air defense drills.
Iran also warned its missiles will be launched against the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain; American military installations in the Indian Ocean and Tel Aviv if it's attacked by either the U.S. or Israel.
"These points are all within the range of Iran's missile systems, and they will be razed to the ground if the enemy makes a mistake," said Mojtaba Zonour, a member of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.
"And only seven minutes is needed for the Iranian missile to hit Tel Aviv."
The new warnings follows new sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on Feb. 3 against Iranian government institutions and Iranian individuals in retaliation for Iran's failed test of an intermediate range ballistic missile in mid-January.
It's also another act of reprisal against Trump's executive order of Jan. 27 that bans migrants and travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries coming to the US. Iran derided the Trump ban as an "affront against the Muslim world" and a "great gift to extremists."
On Jan. 29, however, Iran blocked American citizens from entering the country in retaliation for Trump's ban on officials have said. Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will enforce the ban "until the offensive US limitations against Iranian nationals are lifted."
On Feb. 4, Iran began massive military exercises in a boisterous response to a week of warnings from the Trump administration, including new sanctions.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it tested missile and radar systems as part of the drill. It said the aim of the exercise was "to showcase the power of Iran's revolution and to dismiss the sanctions."
The United States Fifth Fleet is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean. Two Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and their supporting carrier strike wings in Task Force 50 are part of the Fifth Fleet.
The Fifth Fleet's mission is to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and deter unacceptable military behavior by the Iranians.
