Iran Threatens US Amid Rising Gulf Tensions
In a significant escalation of military rhetoric, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued a stark warning to the United States and President Donald Trump. He claimed that even the “strongest military force in the world” could be struck down so severely that it would be unable to recover, suggesting that a warship could be sent “to the bottom of the sea.” This statement comes as the U.S. bolsters its naval presence in the Gulf, including the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the most advanced aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy’s fleet.
USS Gerald R. Ford: A Fortress at Sea
The USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is a nuclear-powered supercarrier weighing 100,000 tons, designed with advanced survivability features. Its hull is segmented into multiple watertight compartments, which help contain flooding even if certain sections are breached. Critical systems, including power, firefighting, and aircraft launch and recovery, are built with redundancy, ensuring that the carrier can continue to operate even after sustaining damage.
During rigorous shock trials, the carrier withstood the detonation of 40,000 pounds of explosives underwater, simulating combat conditions. Remarkably, it remained structurally intact, demonstrating its resilience against severe underwater blasts from mines or torpedoes. Naval analysts argue that the notion of a single missile sinking a supercarrier is largely a myth; modern carriers are engineered not just to float but to endure and fight through damage.
While some believe that a powerful anti-ship missile could penetrate the carrier’s deck and send it to the seabed, the reality is more complex. The Ford-class carriers’ size and buoyancy make them extremely difficult to sink quickly. A single missile strike could cause localized damage or disrupt flight operations but would not necessarily compromise the ship’s overall stability. U.S. Navy crews undergo extensive training for emergencies like fires and flooding, and carriers are equipped with layered firefighting systems and protected fuel storage to prevent catastrophic secondary explosions. Sinking the ship would likely require multiple successful strikes on critical compartments, overwhelming onboard damage-control capabilities.
Iran’s Asymmetric Naval Warfare Strategy
Iran has heavily invested in asymmetric naval warfare, focusing on anti-access and area denial strategies, particularly in strategic waterways like the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian military employs a variety of assets, including anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles, armed drones, naval mines, and fast-attack craft. While Iranian rhetoric often emphasizes “carrier-killer” capabilities, successfully targeting a moving carrier in open waters remains one of the most challenging military tasks.
A carrier strike group operates at high speeds and can change course unpredictably. To successfully hit it with a long-range missile, an adversary requires real-time intelligence, persistent surveillance, and secure data links for mid-flight targeting updates. Without continuous tracking, even advanced missiles may miss their target entirely. The more realistic threat to a carrier comes from a coordinated saturation attack rather than a single missile strike.
Hypersonic weapons, which travel faster than Mach 5, can reduce reaction times and maneuver unpredictably. Even without large warheads, their kinetic energy can cause significant damage. However, they still require precise targeting and must penetrate multiple layers of air and missile defenses. A saturation strike would involve a barrage of ballistic and cruise missiles, drone swarms, and electronic warfare to overwhelm defenses. Iran claims to have operationalized hypersonic systems and adapted ballistic missiles for anti-ship roles, as demonstrated by recent attacks on shipping in the Gulf of Aden.
Iran’s recent military drills and the temporary closure of parts of the Strait of Hormuz highlight the strategic stakes involved. This vital waterway, which connects the Persian Gulf to global markets, has long been a flashpoint during regional crises. The U.S. military’s Central Command has warned that any unsafe behavior near U.S. forces or commercial vessels increases the risks of collision and escalation. As tensions rise, the USS Abraham Lincoln continues operations in the Arabian Sea, with additional U.S. assets deployed to the region amid ongoing nuclear negotiations with Tehran.
