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FARS NEWS/ AFP - Getty Images
The USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier is seen as it allegedly went "inside the manoeuvre zone" where Iranian ships are conducting 10 days of wargames in the Gulf, accoridng to Iranian officials.
An Iranian surveillance plane has video recorded and photographed a U.S. aircraft carrier near a strategic waterway in the Persian Gulf, the country's IRNA news agency reported Thursday.
The report did not provide details, and it was unclear what information the Iranian military could glean from such images. But the announcement is an indication that Iran is seeking to cast its navy as having a powerful role in the region's waters.
IRNA quoted Iran's navy chief, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, as saying the action shows that Iran has "control over the moves by foreign forces" in the area, where Tehran is holding a 10-day military exercise.
Iran has alarmed American officials and the world by declaring it would close the main artery for oil exports from the Persian Gulf if the West imposes sanctions over its nuclear program. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
"An Iranian vessel and surveillance plane have tracked, filmed and photographed a U.S. aircraft carrier as it was entering the Gulf of Oman from the Persian Gulf," Sayyari said.
He added that the "foreign fleet will be warned by Iranian forces if it enters the area of the drill."
State TV showed what appeared to be the reported video, but it was not possible to make out the details of the carrier because the video was shot from far away.
The Iranian exercise is taking place in international waters near the Strait of Hormuz — the passageway for one-sixth of the world's oil supply.
Beyond it lie vast bodies of water, including the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet is also active in the area, as are warships of several other countries that patrol for pirates there.
Lt. Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the U.S. 5th Fleet, said the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and guided-missile cruiser USS Mobile Bay headed out from the Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, after a visit to Dubai's Jebel Ali port.
She described the passage through the strait as "a pre-planned, routine transit" for the carrier, which is providing air support from the north Arabian Sea to troops in Afghanistan.
Rebarich did not directly address Iranian claims of possessing the reported video but said the 5th Fleet's "interaction with the regular Iranian Navy continues to be within the standards of maritime practice, well known, routine and professional."
Thursday's report follows U.S. warnings over Iranian threats to choke off traffic through the Strait of Hormuz if Washington imposes sanctions targeting Iran's crude exports. On Wednesday, Rebarich said the Navy was "always ready to counter malevolent actions to ensure freedom of navigation."
The U.S. 5th Fleet said on Wednesday it would not allow any disruption of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
"Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated," the Bahrain-based fleet said in an e-mail.
Gen. Hossein Salami, the acting commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, rejected the warning.
"The U.S. is not in a position" to affect Iran's decisions, Salami told the semi-official Fars news agency Thursday. "Iran does not ask permission to implement its own defensive strategies."
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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Don't put up with any crap from Iran. It's a two-bit nation in a two-bit part of the world. And they're just asking for it...
Jasper, I sure hoe you move to Iran before the sheet hits the fan. None of you will be missed.
The land of the free because of the brave!
jasper-231312313 - Feel free to keep believing only in yourself and your own closed off perception Though, in your eyes, no one should be allowed to believe otherwise. it is quite obvious that no one ACTUALLY cares about troops, or even people
Jasper exposes his hypocracy now. In his eyes, those who are believe other than he does are despised; and in his world no one cares about him... hmm, wonder why.
Members of the military are not referred to as "cannon fodder' for no reason. They troops are 99 percent for the most part fine people. Yes, even the Military has some bad seeds, after all they are recruited from the civilian population. Too bad that the Politicians that send them to War doesn't have the same values that the troops they command have.........Or the same concerns for the troops welfare, that the Military has.
Can not anyone see what Iran is doing. The sanctions we have already imposed are hurting their economy. They need to turn the peoples focus away from whats going on around them so the people wont do to their Gov. whats been happening all around them. They don't have a chance against the U.S.
Speaking of puppets, I think your handler has his finger stuck up your azz causing brain farts on your part.
I ususally do not advocate gun-boat diplomacy, but in this case, I say we should sink a couple of Iranian ships ...by "accident", just to show them what it is.
I'd target whatever is their most prized warship, which is probably a cannoe with 3 paddles, hole the hull with a missile and force the crew to abandon ship.
Do that a couple of times and all this talk of "Closing the Straights of Hormuz" will evaporate.
Yeah, I know this will never happen. But... I can't help wishing it would.
...and a Happy New Year to you too.
Suggested Resolution: Learn to communicate in English.
I wonder if Iran used the DRONE they stole from the U.S. for their surveillance?
Ha, ha, ha, you've gotta love all the political maneuvering, as these small do nothing countries continue to hold the U.S. hostage with their oil.
When will we Americans wake up and quit allowing Big Oil to use us as their security force?
The U.S. has become nothing more than a Big Bully who pushes everyone around, and forces his will on everyone else.
If you're not going to exterminate a hornets nest, then it's better to leave it alone!
It is better to be the bully than the bullied.
Note from the US Navy to President Ackmoohandjob: Your military is close to phooking up big time!
Note to Jasper,
Please read a book and actually learn before you post your anti-American pseudo-intellectual drivel.
People like you are placed on this earth for everyone else to point at and laugh. Thanks!
Take it easy on Jasper! We don't want him to go away mad. We just want him to go away.
The old adage war is good for the economy is no longer true if it was ever true. China will be building the weapons of the future and those weapons will be like everything else they produce shoddy poor quality and unreliable. The only people who will make money off these wars are the rich. It will not help the average American. We will pay for these wars through our taxes and the rich will take the money they get from them and run to a foreign country and invest it there to make even more money off dirt cheap labor. The Elite are pulling the strings and they don't give a damn about you or your families. If you think the government is not on the payroll of the Elite then you need to take off those rose colored glasses.
Jasper Americans don't want to be slaves but have been carefully manipulated to accept it. Fear is a powerful motivator. Mix that with a sickly and exhausted people who are being bombarded with negative influences both on a physical and mental level and you can control the masses pretty effectively.
Jasper, spoken from someone who would ONLY say that behind a keyboard. Go to your local National Guard or any base and talk like that to a soldier. what's the matter, not brave enough. My family is a 4th generation military family and we WOULD own your a*s. Any one of us. (Wimp)
Here we go again!!!!
Any of you liberal asses dont like it here , go ahead and move to iran , I'll be happy to book a flight for you. Iran is a bunch of illiterate @!$%#s trying to provoke us. When is iraq and afganistan going to start paying for the 3+ trillion we spent protecting and liberating their butts.I'm tired of my tax money going to protect towelheads , pull back and carpet bomb the whole middle east. A Disabled USMC combat vet
Jasper,
I think we all know that if your puny little pathetic self actually ever emerged from your parents' basement to spit on a Marine, it would be the last thing you ever did. People like you talk a big game from the safety of a computer, but in real life, when confronted with an issue, you poop your pants, s and start crying like a little b*tch, and attempt to beg your way out of a problem. LOL!!! We all know it's true. (Him just a wittle guy)
Gunny, stereotyping 75 million Iranians is like saying all Americans are the same and have the same political and religious views. Do you really think any of the 'towel head' countries want anything to do with the US or even asked us for a dime before we attacked them? Most of them want us to leave them alone, go home and stay there. We need to surgically take out those who want to take us out regardless of what country they currently reside, not focus on an entire country.
If our forces should attack anyone in the area it should be Somalia. They shot down one of our helicopters and paraded our dead soldiers through their streets and we just turned the other cheek. Now they pirate with impunity. Why?... simple no oil there.
LOL!
Oh Jasper, the crazy lies you tell. We all know you are just a pathetic wittle man who probably was beaten up his entire life for being a weak little troll. Sorry bud, the world needs pathetic little souls such as yourself, for the bigger and stronger to smack around. LOL!!
No, as a Liberal, I will stay right here in MY country and speak up against people like YOU who do not represent American values as embodied in the Constitution. YOU need to leave this country, Mr. Fascist, since you obviously believe in expelling citizens for exercising their freedom of speech-- something that is distinctly UN-American! You are not a Patriot. You are a Nationalist. There is a difference. Maybe YOU should join the military and go to fight overseas if you believe so strongly in fighting for your country?
Gunny, you have my respect sir.
Step away from the Aircraft Carrier!!!!!!
more reason why we should start that pipeline from Canada to the Gulf coast. Obama playing his chess game on the middle and poor's back, he is an idiot, just get going with drilling and open up some of the east coast,
just don't let b.p. in there, haha, screw iran also, drop the bomb, they are going to use one on us sooner or later.
No shlt????
Hey TEABAG,Mikey likes liberals, I don't like blowing anyone up. And don't start that "conservatives don't mind debt when it comes to war" bs with me. I don't believe that our debt crisis is strictly associated with war and if you do then keep voting for the Dems. and see where that gets you. For the record more liberal Dems. have gotten us in wars than any one else. By the way nice job of pulling the race card out in a conversation that I would have thought did not apply. You must be a government parasite I mean employee or is it a union of some sort. I have 3 generations of Military service in my family I know what war and freedom really costs. That is what I love about America we want it all but don't want the burden. For the record those of us who pay our taxes will pay for it. If we were smart we would stop giving money to these other countries like Mexico, Russia and Pakistan and that could pay for the War, You probably think that is crazy, or how about the money that Pelozi used to build her new office in California or the money Obama used to take his Kids to visit Russia, but hey that was money well spent. What else you got?
I think that someone should acquaint the Iranian Navy with Custer's last stand and if necessary, explain to them just how this equates to their position. (1) Their country is surrounded by our military. (2) We have the worlds most powerful and best equipped navy .
It would appear that Iran may actually feel threatened and be acting like a scared dog who barks and growls a lot, but when push comes to shove and given a way out, will run from the fight. At any rate should their navy decide to test our navy I have little doubt that the skirmish would not last very long and the Iranian causalities would be high indeed! If made necessary by Iran's aggressive actions, we should take the opportunity to eliminate their navy all together and put and end to this nonsense!
You tell em Gunny, and thanks for protecting our country. In my opinion you can't hear that enough.
Your "people" are weak, like rats...
Roanoke1- it is widely believed that rats will out survive Americans and other nations long after the great all knowing humans have eradicated themselves out of existence. So, tell us more about these weak rats that will be feeding off your dry bones in the not so distant future.....
LOL!!!
Oh JBURK,
your completely insane thought process is amusing. There has never, and never will be a successful invasion of the American mainland. What, are your little pathetic Arab countries that can't even get to the moon, have indoor toilets, or provide electricity to their people somehow going to bring down the best military might this world has ever seen?? LOL!! You dream!
Good try, but try harder...
Rats live and multiply most successfully by associating with man. If man disappears, then the rat population will fall dramatically; they will be but one more species of rodents, or jaspers, as we call them in my neck of the woods.
Iran, through these actions, is giving the country a boost to their GDP.
Oil prices rise on unrest in the area.
Iran makes more $$$$. Not too hard to figure out.
Some people say that cucumbers taste better pickled.
I like mine pickled with fresh horseradish!
Yummmmmm!
Jasper, You are a disgrace. I hope some day you grow up enough to be embarassed, but you are probably too ignorant. You should leave this terrible country. I hear Iran is looking for americans.
Woe is me I'm Jasper. I can't get past how everyone has hurt me and my people.... boo hoo
Besides just because your paranoid doesn't mean't mean they aren't out to get you.
You should leave it, since you seem to want to go to war with Iran so badly? I can send you the address of the nearest recruiting center if you wish? Nobody is stopping you from joining the army. Or are you just another Little Drummer Boy who prefers to stay home to beat the drums of war?
I served for 6 years and say give them all we got=if they provoke us in any way.
Iran, you need to be "VERY CAREFUL" of what button you push next. If it's the wrong one, you navy will be gone in a matter of seconds. "YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED"....!!!!!!
someone needs to shoot jasper in the face.
"your completely insane thought process is amusing. There has never, and never will be a successful invasion of the American mainland."
To Roanoke1- It is pretty obvious you have never been to Dearborn Michigan.............
You mean, because the McDonald's in Dearborn sell towelhead-friendly food, I should be worried?
Sure, that is why there is a movement across America to stop the Islamization of America. So, bring it.
Iran........... Good Luck.
Jasper=TROLL
jasper=tiny genitalia
Jasper=tiny genitalia (at least, thats what your sister said)
Roanok1, I think you struck a nerve with "little" Jasper!
JASPER = One of the few intelligent people in the forum.
Jasper and Shandril= Weak little trolls who hide behind keyboards because they are too pathetic for the real world.
I feel sorry for the innocent civilians trapped under oppressive Iranian @ssclown dictators. Hope our U.S. Navy doesn't have to prove how awesome it is living in the free world.
Iran could put a stop to this entire matter by simply allowing unfettered continuous inspections of its nuclear facilities. If indeed Iran's program is only for fuel and medicine (peaceful purposes) as they claim, what harm can come of such inspections. In fact, verification of the "peaceful" nature of their program would probably lead to more outside assistance in getting the program completed and functioning at a high level. But, of course, the answer is that Iran's program is not for peaceful purposes and, therefore, Iran wants no one to see or learn what is really being done until it is too late. Even to the extent of threatening an act of war(blocking the Straight Of Hormuz) if sanctions are ratcheted up to put pressure on Iran to cease their nuke program. One has to wonder if Mr. Ahmadinejad's Twelther religious beliefs are actually driving him and the nation of Iran to a very sad outcome. Unfortunately, we may soon find out.
War is imminent...it's just the matter of time...As long as the US is the Super Power, the whole world would stay in balance. We maybe in debt for trilions of dollars because of war but we make sure everything is in balance. The reason why this country exist is because of war we bacame the super power because of war. If the US collapse for being the super power the whole world will go down with her. everything will be in chaos. And when everything collapse money wont mean anything anymore. That is why US maintain the balance of power peace and that is why we still exist today in your couch watching football every Sunday!