Iran is building up its forces in the Persian Gulf and has prepared speedboats loaded with explosives. That is according to a senior US naval official, who also said that the US is still capable of preventing Iran from blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
“They have increased the number of submarines [to 10], they increased the number of fast attack craft,” the commander of US naval forces in the region, Vice Admiral Mark Fox, told reporters on Sunday. “Some of the small boats have been outfitted with a large warhead that could be used as a suicide explosive device. The Iranians have a large mine inventory.”
The head of US’s Fifth Fleet also added that the United States has been watching with interest how Tehran develops its long-range rockets and various ballistic missiles, not mentioning the country’s nuclear program.
The 2000 suicide attack of Al-Qaeda’s small boat on the destroyer USS Cole in a Yemeni port, which killed 17 sailors, exposed a relative vulnerability of huge battleships before such attacks. Now, the US command says it takes these threats seriously, also adding that it is prepared for them.
“We are very vigilant, we have built a wide range of options to give the president and we are ready… What if it happened tonight? We are ready today,” Vice Admiral Fox assured.
