Iranian military officials claim the country has bolstered its navy with the introduction of a new warship capable of carrying aircraft, drones, helicopters, and missiles, according to a statement issued on Thursday.
The 150-meter Shahid Roudaki vessel is "ready to carry out missions," Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on its website.
The IRGC's existing fleet mainly comprises small vessels off the Iranian coast and near the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic choke point on a major international oil and gas shipping route.
The announcement of the new addition to the fleet comes days after Tehran warned Washington that it would be met with a "crushing" response, following reports that US President Donald Trump had considered strikes to take out Iranian nuclear sites.
Also on rt.com Iran threatens US with ‘crushing’ response after claims Trump mulled attack on its nuclear sites"Any action against the Iranian nation would certainly face a crushing response," said Iranian government spokesperson Ali Rabiei.
A New York Times article had suggested that US officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, had to talk Trump down from military action, which could have included targeting Iran's primary uranium-enrichment facility, Natanz.
Tehran has begun uranium enrichment at an underground plant at the site, according to a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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