Iranian admiral threatens to sink US ships

The commander of Iran’s navy keeps up the war-like rhetoric of recent days, threatening to sink US ships if Trump pulls out of the nuclear deal.  

By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The naval commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Admiral Ali Fadavi, threatened outright on Iranian television on Saturday to sink US warships if America pulls out of the nuclear deal.

Fadavi asserted in a television interview, as translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), “The actual information that the Americans have about us is much less than what they think they have. When will they figure this out? When it is too late. They will definitely figure it out when their ships are sunk, or when they find themselves in a catastrophic situation.”

The admiral’s smiling face belied his tough talk, which was followed Tuesday by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s speech – also on Iranian TV – in which he warned, according to Reuters, “If anyone betrays the deal, they should know that they will face severe consequences.”

On the same day, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told The Associated Press: “If the United States were to withdraw from the nuclear deal, the immediate consequence in all likelihood would be that Iran would reciprocate and withdraw. There won’t be any deal for Iran to stay in.”

US President Donald Trump has consistently stressed the need to “fix or nix” the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the nuclear agreement, that the Obama administration signed with Iran in 2015 along with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. One of the main problems with the deal, according to Trump, is the sunset clauses that enable Iran to legally go back in 10 years to enriching uranium and building facilities, which would enable the Islamic Republic to make nuclear weapons.

This is not the first time that Fadavi has specifically threatened the US Navy. In 2016, he stated in Iranian media, “We have informed Americans that their presence in the Persian Gulf is an absolute evil,” adding that “Americans are aware that Iran would destroy their warships if they take a wrong measure in the region.”