A U.S. Navy fleet sent to the Persian Gulf to ward off a potential threat to American commercial interests represents a target instead of a serious threat, a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said Sunday. The Pentagon on Friday announced plans to send the USS Arlington and the Patriot missile battery to the Middle East in an effort to deter actions from Iran. The maneuver came after national security adviser John Bolton said the U.S. was sending the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region, which includes the Middle East. IRANIAN CLERIC THREATENS U.S. NAVY FLEET AMID WARNING REGIME COULD TARGET COMMERCIAL SHIPS “An aircraft carrier that has at least 40 to 50 planes on it and 6,000 forces gathered within it was a serious threat for us in the past but now it is a target and the threats have switched to opportunities,” said Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the IRG’s aerospace division, according to Iranian media. Haijizadeh added: “If [the Americans] make a move, we will hit them in the head.” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNBC the move to deploy a U.S. military team in the Gulf came in response to intelligence reports about possible Iranian attacks. “We've seen this reporting,” Pompeo said. “It's real. It appears to be something that is current, that is things we're worried about today.” Pompeo added: “In the event that Iran decided to come after an American interest - whether that be in Iraq or Afghanistan or Yemen or any place in the Middle East - we are prepared to respond in an appropriate way … our aim is not war.” Iranian naval commander Rear Admiral Hossien Khanzadi demanded the U.S. leave the region, Reuters reported, citing the Iranian media. An Iranian cleric warned last week that Iran could easily destroy a U.S. naval fleet. “Their billion[-dollar] fleet can be destroyed with one missile," Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad said. “If they attempt any move, they will ... [face] dozens of missiles because at that time [government] officials won't be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things will be in the hands of [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei],” he warned. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The heated rhetoric has capped a multiyear standoff over the rogue nation's nuclear program. President Trump's administration angered the regime when he withdrew from an Obama-era nuclear deal granting Iran sanctions relief in exchange for limited monitoring accommodations. Fox News’ Sam Dorman and Elizabeth Zwirz contributed to this report.<doc-sep>LONDON/DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran could target U.S. commercial ships including oil tankers, the U.S. Maritime Administration said on Friday, as a senior Iranian cleric said a U.S. Navy fleet could be “destroyed with one missile.” In the latest tense exchange between Tehran and Washington, Iran’s hardline Revolutionary Guards separately said Iran would not negotiate with the United States, a stance that seemed partly aimed at discouraging Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his moderate allies from taking up a U.S. offer of talks. U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday urged Iran’s leaders talk with him about giving up their nuclear program and said he could not rule out a military confrontation. Trump made the offer as he increased economic and military pressure on Iran, moving to cut off all Iranian oil exports this month while beefing up the U.S. Navy and Air Force presence in the Gulf. Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan approved a new deployment of Patriot missiles to the Middle East, a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. The U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, deployed as a warning to Iran, passed through Egypt’s Suez Canal on Thursday and American B-52 bombers have also arrived at a U.S. base in Qatar, U.S. Central Command said. Iran has dismissed both moves - which the United States said it took after U.S. intelligence signaled possible preparations by Tehran to attack U.S. forces or interests - as “psychological warfare” designed to intimidate it. In an advisory posted on Thursday, the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) said that since early May there had been an increased possibility of Iran or its regional proxies taking action against U.S. and partner interests. These included, MARAD said, oil production infrastructure, after Tehran threatened to close the vital Strait of Hormuz chokepoint through which about a fifth of oil consumed globally passes. “Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or U.S. military vessels in the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, or the Persian Gulf,” MARAD said. “Reporting indicates heightened Iranian readiness to conduct offensive operations against U.S. forces and interests.” HEATED RHETORIC Millions of barrels of oil pass daily through the various bottlenecks from Middle East oil producers to global markets. U.S.-Iranian tensions have risen since Trump withdrew a year ago from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and major powers and began ratcheting up sanctions to throttle Tehran’s economy. Slideshow ( 7 images ) Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, told Reuters on Thursday its forces were on a heightened state of readiness, although the U.S. military was not seeking or preparing for war with Iran. MARAD said U.S.-flagged ships were encouraged to contact the Fifth Fleet at least two days before sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. The fleet’s job is to protect commercial shipping in the area. Washington further tightened sanctions on Iran this month - eliminating waivers that had allowed some countries to buy its oil - with a goal of reducing Tehran’s crude exports to zero. Slideshow ( 7 images ) Iran responded by relaxing some curbs on its nuclear program concerning material stockpiles but continues to comply with commitments to restrict its uranium enrichment activity. Rhetoric has grown heated on both sides. The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted hardliner Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad in the city of Isfahan as saying: “Their billion(-dollar) fleet can be destroyed with one missile. “If they attempt any move, they will ... (face) dozens of missiles because at that time (government) officials won’t be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things will be in the hands of our beloved leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei),” he said. ‘SANCTIONS HAVE NO EFFECT!’ Separately, Yadollah Javani, the elite Revolutionary Guards’ deputy head for political affairs, said: “No talks will be held with the Americans, and the Americans will not dare take military action against us.” “Our nation ... sees America as unreliable,” he said, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, echoing a stance Iran has taken since the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 deal under which Iran curbed its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions. Thousands of Iranians took part in state-sponsored marches on Friday to support the government’s decision to reduce limits on its nuclear program. Iran has threatened to go further if other parties to the deal - Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia - fail to shield it from U.S. sanctions. State TV showed protesters marching after Friday prayers in Tehran and said similar marches had been held across Iran. “America should know, sanctions have no effect!” chanted the protesters.<doc-sep>A high-ranking cleric in the Iranian government claimed Friday that a U.S. carrier strike group headed to the Persian Gulf could be destroyed by a single missile fired by Iran's military, the latest threat from Tehran amid heightened tensions with the U.S. Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad, who serves in Iran's Assembly of Experts, said that “their billion [-dollar] fleet can be destroyed with one missile," Reuters reported, citing an Iranian news agency. ADVERTISEMENT “If they attempt any move, they will... [face] dozens of missiles because at that time [President Hassan Rouhani's] officials won’t be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things will be in the hands of our beloved leader [Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei],” Tabatabai-Nejad added, according to the news service. ADVERTISEMENT The Trump administration announced Sunday that it would deploy the carrier strike group led by the USS Abraham Lincoln to the region along with a bomber task force to address “troubling and escalatory indications and warnings." Tabatabai-Nejad, a hard-line conservative cleric, is seen as close to Khamenei in the country, according to Reuters, and his threats could indicate growing pressure from Iran's conservative wing to press tensions with the U.S. A top official with Iran's Revolutionary Guard addressed the tensions as well, stating that “no talks will be held with the Americans, and the Americans will not dare take military action against us," Reuters reported. Iran's government sees the U.S. as "unreliable" following the Trump administration's decision last year to abandon the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, the Revolutionary Guard official reportedly added. White House national security adviser John Bolton John BoltonRepublicans request documents on Kerry's security clearance process Trump pushes back on Bolton poll Hillicon Valley: Facebook Oversight board to rule on Trump ban in 'coming weeks' | Russia blocks Biden Cabinet officials in retaliation for sanctions MORE said this week that the U.S. will not take military action in the region unless Iranian military forces or allied militia groups attempt such an act first. “The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces,” he said.<doc-sep>A senior Iranian cleric has warned the US against displays of power, saying that one missile could destroy a fleet worth billions of dollars. His words come as America sends an aircraft carrier group as a message to Iran. Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabai-Nejad, who represents the Isfahan Province in Iran's Assembly of Experts, said on Friday that the US' “billion-dollar fleet can be destroyed with one missile,” according to the Iranian ISNA news agency. He did not elaborate, though, which particular missile he had in mind. Earlier, a deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps also made it clear he sees Washington’s muscle-flexing as empty bravado. The US “will not dare to launch a military action against us,” Yadollah Javani told Tasnim News Agency. This week the US sent the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group as well as a bomber task force to “send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime,” as US National Advisor John Bolton put it. However, the move apparently failed to impress Tehran. Also on rt.com Tehran wants to bring nuclear deal ‘back on track’, Iran's Atomic Energy Organization says Bolton indeed admitted that the US “is not seeking war with the Iranian regime.” But he also stated that any attack on the interests of the US or its allies “will be met with unrelenting force.” These statements come amid another spiral of tension in relations between Washington and Tehran. The US aircraft carrier deployment follows a fresh round of sanctions imposed against the Iranian nuclear energy sector. Also on rt.com New Iran sanctions: Trump threatens anyone trading aluminum, iron, steel & copper The US has also spared no efforts in mounting pressure on Tehran following its own withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal a year ago. In April, the US lifted exemptions granted to the buyers of Iranian oil and designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group. Iran responded by adding the US Central Command (CENTCOM) to its own terrorist list. to RT newsletter to get stories the mainstream media won’t tell you.<doc-sep>
Tensions escalated in the Middle East on Friday as Iran warned it could easily destroy a naval fleet sent by the United States in order to ward off a potential threat to American commercial interests. "Their billion[-dollar] fleet can be destroyed with one missile," Ayatollah Tabatabai-Nejad said, according to Reuters. "If they attempt any move, they will ... [face] dozens of missiles because at that time [government] officials won't be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things will be in the hands of our beloved leader," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he warned. The heated rhetoric has capped a multiyear standoff over the rogue nation's nuclear program. President Trump's administration angered the regime when he withdrew from an Obama-era nuclear deal granting Iran sanctions relief in exchange for limited monitoring accommodations. PENTAGON SAYS IT'LL SEND SHIP, MISSILE BATTERY TO MIDDLE EAST TO DETER IRAN The regime relaxed constraints on its nuclear program in reaction to sanctions the administration applied in May as part of its plan to put a chokehold on the nation's crude oil exports. U.S. intelligence indicated that Iran considered military action and could close a waterway through which a hefty amount of the world's oil passes. “Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or U.S. military vessels in the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, or the Persian Gulf,” the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) said on Friday. While the president has warned of a potential U.S. military response, he also urged Iranian leaders on Thursday to talk with him about their nuclear program. "What they should be doing is calling me up, sitting down; we can make a deal, a fair deal. ... We're not looking to hurt Iran," Trump reportedly told the press. In a statement on Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also pushed talks between leaders but warned that the U.S. was ready to take "swift and decisive" action. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP "The regime in Tehran should understand that any attacks by them or their proxies of any identity against U.S. interests or citizens will be answered with a swift and decisive U.S. response," he said. Military action appeared more likely after Iran's Revolutionary Guard refused to hold talks with the U.S. “No talks will be held with the Americans, and the Americans will not dare take military action against us," Yadollah Javani, the group's deputy head for political affairs, said.