Iran builds fake US Navy aircraft carrier to attack
The replica suggests Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is preparing to repeat a mock-sinking conducted in 2015
Vessel resembles Nimitz-class carriers that the US Navy routinely sails into the Arabian Gulf
Updated 10 June 2020
Arab News
DUBAI: Iran has built a fake version of a US aircraft carrier off its Gulf coast to use as target practice in military exercises.
The mock-up looks like one of the Nimitz-class carriers deployed by the US Navy through the Strait of Hormuz and into the Arabian Gulf.
However, the Iranian version is noticeably smaller than the real thing. It is about 200 meters long and 50 meters wide, while a Nimitz-class carrier is more than 300 meters long and 75 meters wide.
The replica carries 16 mock-ups of fighter jets on its deck, according to satellite photos taken by Maxar Technologies. The fake carrier is floating in the southern port of Bandar Abbas. Its appearance suggests the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is preparing a repeat of a mock sinking it conducted in February 2015.
The replica resembles the one used in a military exercise called Great Prophet 9, when speedboats firing machineguns and rockets swarmed the fake carrier — actually a floating barge. Surface-to-sea missiles later destroyed the replica.
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“American aircraft carriers are big ammunition depots housing a lot of missiles, rockets, torpedoes and everything else,” former IRGC navy chief Adm. Ali Fadavi said at the time.
Dr. Theodore Karasik of Gulf State Analytics in Washington told Arab News: “Iran’s attacking the real carrier battle group would obviously lead to an escalation, which all parties in the region are fully aware of. War-gaming of the 2015 IRGC naval exercise showed high casualties for such an attack.
“However, these scenarios showed Iran’s asymmetric warfare capability being low-cost and highly effective. Iran’s willingness to take the risk in the current environment is an important consideration given that tensions are high.”
Gaza’s Nasser Hospital condemns move by MSF to suspend most services
On Saturday, MSF said the security breaches, arrests and intimidation put staff and patients at serious risk
Nasser Hospital rejects the claims, and says civilian police are inside to protect patients and staff
Updated 16 sec ago
AP
CAIRO: One of Gaza’s last functioning large hospitals condemned the move by an international organization to pull out of operations over concerns about armed men, claiming on Sunday that the hospital had installed civil police for security. The move comes as at least 10 Palestinians were killed in clashes with the Israeli military in Gaza. Doctors Without Borders, also known by its acronym MSF, said in a statement Saturday that all its noncritical medical operations at Nasser Hospital were suspended due to security breaches that posed “serious” threats to its teams and patients. MSF said there had been an increase in patients and staff seeing armed men in parts of the compound since the US-brokered October ceasefire was reached. Nasser Hospital said Sunday that the increase in armed men was due to a civilian police presence aimed at protecting patients and staff and said MSF’s “allegations are factually incorrect, irresponsible, and pose a serious risk to a protected civilian medical facility.” Nasser Hospital one of few functioning hospitals left in Gaza Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is one of the territory’s few functioning hospitals. Hundreds of patients and war-wounded have been treated there daily, and the facility was a hub for Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in exchange for Israeli hostages as part of the current ceasefire deal. “MSF teams have reported a pattern of unacceptable acts including the presence of armed men, intimidation, arbitrary arrests of patients and a recent situation of suspicion of movement of weapons,” the organization said. The suspension occurred in January but was only recently announced. Nasser Hospital staff say that in recent months it has been repeatedly attacked by masked, armed men and militias, which is why the presence of an armed civilian police force is crucial. Hamas remains the dominant force in areas not under Israeli control, including in the area where Nasser Hospital is located. But other armed groups have mushroomed across Gaza as a result of the war, including groups backed by Israel’s army in the Israeli-controlled part of the strip. Throughout the war, which began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has repeatedly struck hospitals, including Nasser, accusing the militant group of operating in or around them. Hamas security men often have been seen inside hospitals, blocking access to some areas. Some hostages released from Gaza have said they spent time during captivity in a hospital, including Nasser Hospital. Ten Palestinians killed in strikes across Gaza At least 10 Palestinians were killed Sunday by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip, hospital authorities said. The dead include five men, all in their 20s, who were killed in an Israeli strike in the eastern part of Khan Younis city, according to the Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. The strike hit a group of people in an area close to the Yellow Line which separates Israeli-controlled areas from the rest of Gaza, it said. The Israeli military did not comment on the strike but has said in the past it will attack militants if its troops are threatened, especially near the Yellow Line. Rami Shaqra said his son, Al-Baraa, was among the militants who were securing the area from potential attacks by the Israeli forces or Israeli-backed armed groups, when they were hit by the Israeli military. He said that they were killed by an airstrike. Associated Press footage from the morgue showed at least two of the men had headbands denoting membership in the Qassam Brigades, the militant arm of Hamas. In northern Gaza, a drone strike hit a group of people in the Falluja area of Jabaliya refugee camp, killing five people, according to the Shifa Hospital. The Israeli military said it was striking northern Gaza in response to several ceasefire violations near the Yellow Line, including militants attempting to hide in debris and others who attempted to cross the line while armed. The Oct. 10 US-brokered ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and Hamas. While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has seen almost daily Israeli fire. Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing 601 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, maintains detailed casualty records that are seen as generally reliable by UN agencies and independent experts. But it does not give a breakdown of civilians and militants. Militants have carried out shooting attacks on troops, and Israel says its strikes are in response to that and other violations. Four Israeli soldiers have been killed.
