TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014
A starboard quarter view of the Iranian destroyer escort ITS ROSTAM (DE-73), now redesignated the frigate IS SABALAN (F-73). NOTE: This vessel was heavily damaged on 19 April 1988 by air attack of units of CVW-11 from the USS ENTERPRISE (CVN-65) in retaliation for the mining of the USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG-58) in the Persian Gulf. Wikipedia
These Are the Entirely Crappy Warships Iran Says It’s Sending to the U.S. Coast -- David Axe, War Is Boring
A 45-year-old destroyer and Iran’s only big tanker ship
A senior admiral of the Iranian navy said on Feb. 8 that Tehran is sending two warships near American waters in retaliation for U.S. naval deployments around Iran.
“Iran’s military fleet is approaching the United States’ maritime borders, and this move has a message,” Adm. Afshin Rezayee Haddad told Iranian state media, according to U.S. news reports.
Haddad called the deployment “Iran’s response to Washington’s beefed up naval presence in the Persian Gulf.”
Never mind that the U.S. Navy has actually reduced its forces in the Persian Gulf. Today the Navy has just one nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman, in the Gulf along with the amphibious assault ship Boxer. Two years ago the Americans had two carriers near Iran, but budget cuts ended that that practice.
Read more ....
Update #1: Iranian warships pose little threat to U.S. homeland -- USA Today
Update #2: Washington Plays Down Iranian Navy's Threats -- Arutz Sheva
My Comment: A 45 year old destroyer and a supply ship .... not much of a threat there. My prediction .... expect this Iranian "fleet" to be "watched and hounded" when they are a few hundred miles from the U.S. coast .... if they can get there.