Iran Attacks Replica U.S. Warship in Strait of Hormuz Missile Drill

Iran fired missiles and attacked a scale replica of a U.S. warship in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday as part of massive military war games, state media outlets reported.

The country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard test-fired what it said were new 223 mph underwater missiles during the drills, code named Great Prophet 9, according to Press TV.

Pictures showed a number of gunboats swarming the model warship and blasting it with missiles. The model "of an American aircraft carrier" was built to scale and targeted with cruise missiles and ballistic missiles, according to Fars News.

The drills also featured "speedboats equipped with naval radars, electronic communications systems, cruise missiles with a range of 25 kilometers, anti-ship medium-range missiles, medium- and large-caliber torpedoes, sea mines, heavy machine guns, rocket-launchers and shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles," Press TV said.

Western navies also stage military exercises in the Gulf, saying they wish to guarantee freedom of navigation.

Some 30 percent of all seaborne-traded oil flows through Hormuz, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and U.S. officials have expressed concern in the past that Iran could try to disrupt the oil flow or even attack American warships patrolling the waters of the Gulf.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump administration deal with Nevada fuels data center fight in governor’s race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino voters reject Trump’s immigration policies — and detail the personal impact

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Democrats eye big midterm gains, the Wisconsin governor’s race remains a nail-biter

FOR SUBSCRIBERSU.S. military prepares new Iran war options ahead of midterm elections

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCIA probe into intel leak led to discovery of gold bars at agent’s home, sources say

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTexas Latino leaders clash with national Democrats in a meeting over gubernatorial race

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Still in this very long day that started on Oct. 7th’

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAnimal rescues in Cuba struggle to care for abandoned pets amid deepening economic crisis

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLocals called their town ‘Almost Heaven’. A plan to open a Buc-ee’s exposed its underbelly.

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump keeps touting $21 trillion coming into the U.S. Even his website says it’s half that.

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA Siberian town and the world remain in the dark after a lab worker dies of suspected plague

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongress launches investigation into youth sports giant AAU’s handling of sexual abuse

Slide 1 of 1

The Guard's Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, was recently quoted by state media claiming: "We can destroy a U.S. warship in 50 seconds."

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump administration deal with Nevada fuels data center fight in governor’s race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino voters reject Trump’s immigration policies — and detail the personal impact

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAs Democrats eye big midterm gains, the Wisconsin governor’s race remains a nail-biter

FOR SUBSCRIBERSU.S. military prepares new Iran war options ahead of midterm elections

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCIA probe into intel leak led to discovery of gold bars at agent’s home, sources say

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTexas Latino leaders clash with national Democrats in a meeting over gubernatorial race

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Still in this very long day that started on Oct. 7th’

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAnimal rescues in Cuba struggle to care for abandoned pets amid deepening economic crisis

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLocals called their town ‘Almost Heaven’. A plan to open a Buc-ee’s exposed its underbelly.

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump keeps touting $21 trillion coming into the U.S. Even his website says it’s half that.

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA Siberian town and the world remain in the dark after a lab worker dies of suspected plague

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongress launches investigation into youth sports giant AAU’s handling of sexual abuse

Slide 1 of 1

A ceremony marking Wednesday’s exercises was attended by commanders of the Guards and by by parliament speaker Ali Larijani.

"We have noticeably expanded the defense budget of the armed forces to ensure the stable security of the region," Larijani told a news conference before the exercises, according to Fars News.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.