Iran launched its “Great Prophet 14" military exercise on Monday in the Strait of Hormuz.
The annual exercise, held by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, featured an attack on a fake U.S. aircraft carrier using helicopters, speedboats and military divers.
IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami said that strategically, Iran operates defensively, but that its tactical approach is entirely offensive, according to a report by Iran’s Channel 1.
Gen. Gholamali Rashid, the commander of the Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said that Iran will swiftly respond to any threats or “destabilizing actions,” according to the report.
The report also showed IRGC forces launching missiles and carrying out other aspects of the exercise.
The replica vessel, patterned after a U.S. Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, complete with dummy aircraft, was spotted being dragged out to sea on Monday by U.S. satellite imaging firm Maxar Technologies. The vessel, which is actually a barge, was also used in Iran’s “Great Prophet 9” exercise in 2015.
