Iran subs poised to torpedo US warships in Gulf

An Iranian commander has warned that Tehran is on full alert in case of enemy threats, and has the best submarines in the world ready to “ambush and hit enemy vessels, especially US Aircraft carriers, from the seabed throughout the Persian Gulf.”

Lieutenant Commander of the Iranian Army's Self-Sufficiency Jihad Rear Admiral Farhad Amiri hailed the Iranian submarines as “the best electronic diesel vessels in the world, noiseless and able to easily evade detection as they are equipped with sonar-evading technology," the country’s semi-state Fars news agency reported. The Iranian military official said the vessels can fire missiles and torpedoes simultaneously, underlining that the submarines’ superiority was not just due to their arms and equipment, but also “the tactical issues are very important", given the geographical specifications of the waters surrounding the country. A submarine of this type sitting on the seabed can easily target and hit an aircraft carrier traversing nearby regions, hinting at the US aircraft carriers deployed in the Persian Gulf.Ghadir submarines are equipped with cutting edge military and technological equipment and are capable of firing Hoot supercavitating rocket torpedoes, allegedly reverse-engineered from the Russian VA-111 Shkval.Most analysts agree that it is not a matter of if a war between the US and Iran will break out, but when. US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on Wednesday that America is “not making any special steps” to build-up for a possible military conflict with Iran because the US is already “fully prepared to deal with that situation.”Both sides are well prepared for a confrontation, and despite its relatively inferior military power in comparison with the US, Iran dominates the northern gulf and the Strait of Hormuz with its strategic geography. Besides submarines, Iran has enough domestically-produced smart munitions, light attack craft, mines and ballistic missiles to effectively counteract other military powers and strike vessels within its waters.The consequences of a direct military confrontation in the Gulf would be “grave,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during his annual news conference on Wednesday. "Then a chain reaction will begin, and I don't know where it will stop,” Lavrov said.