IRAN has put on a dramatic display of its naval strength using cruise missiles and torpedoes to blow up ships in drills aimed at warning off “encroaching enemies”.
Large explosions at sea feature in the Iranian navy’s latest footage as missiles launch from land units and military ships.
The cruise missiles can be seen blasting into the air, before arcing down to their targets.
Billowing plumes of smoke blast into the sky above the sea as the hit ships are blown to pieces.
Iran fired the cruise missiles and torpedoes on Thursday as part of a naval drill in the Gulf of Oman, Press TV reported, amid heightened tensions with the US.
The country has been flexing its naval muscles this week, showcasing a pair of new warships during the two-day exercise, codenamed Naval Strength 99.
Deputy Navy Commander for Coordination Rear Admiral Hamzeh-Ali Kaviani warned Iran had a very high capability in the field of cruise missiles.
Enemies will be targeted with cruise missiles
“The enemies should know that in the event of any violation and encroachment on the maritime borders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, they will be targeted with cruise missiles from the coast and the sea,” Admiral Kaviani warned.
“The high impact power of cruise missiles with various ranges available to the Navy has made them effective weaponry in naval battles,” he added.
Although full information about all the weapons used in the exercise was classified, said Admiral Kaviani, he revealed the domestically-made Conqueror submarine fired torpedoes that struck their targets for the first time.
Drones, he added, were also used on reconnaissance and combat missions during the exercise.
The drill comes on the fifth anniversary of Iran's Revolutionary Guard seizing two US boats and detaining ten sailors in the Persian Gulf.
Last week Iran seized a South Korean oil tanker and its crew en route to the UAE through the Persian Gulf – allegedly for breaking pollution laws.
Experts say the regime is holding the vessel as leverage as it negotiates for the release of billions in assets frozen by South Korean banks under US sanctions.
In recent weeks, Iran has increased its military drills.
Iran held a massive combat drone manoeuvre on January 5, with armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Baqeri warning the “fingers of our heroic armed forces are on the trigger”.
Dealing with the growing threat from Tehran will be one of the key issues facing Joe Biden when he enters the White House next week.
President Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
Since then the US has ramped up sanctions, and Iran has abandoned limits on uranium enrichment.
Its development of nuclear facilities and ballistic missiles has pushed the two countries to the brink of war.
Trump is said to have been talked out of launching missile strikes against Iran in November, and some advisers fear he might still take action in his last days in office.
The combative relationship reached new heights of tension as Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani claimed the assassination of senior general Qasem Soleimani sparked ‘crazy murderer’ Trump’s downfall to the ‘dustbin of history’.
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