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Pentagon skeptical on Iran naval posturing

Iranian officials say their navy will deploy ships to the Atlantic Ocean near the U.S. coastlines, but Pentagon officials say they are not concerned.

Top Iranian navy officials said their ships may go as far as the Gulf of Mexico, and Iran may for the first time seek to establish a direct military hotline with the U.S. military, according to reports in the Iranian press.

“We should have a strong presence in all open seas,” Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari told the Tehran Times Tuesday.

Rear Adm. Ali Fadavi said, “When we go to the Gulf of Mexico, we will establish direct communication with them,” according to the Iranian newspaper.

A Pentagon spokesman appeared skeptical.

“We’ll have to see what they do or don’t do after these statements,” Pentagon spokesman George Little told reports in Washington on Wednesday. “Whether they can truly project naval power is a question in itself.”

Also, Iranian officials said Wednesday that Iran has begun large-scale production of a domestically developed cruise missile designed for sea-based targets and capable of destroying warships.

Defense Minister Gen. Ahmad Vahidi said the missile, which has a range of 124 miles, can travel at low altitudes and “can sink giant warships.” The comments appeared to suggest that the new missile could potentially counter the U.S. naval presence in the Persian Gulf.

The West is already concerned about Iran’s military capabilities, especially the implications of the country’s disputed nuclear program. The U.S. and some of its allies, and as the U.N. nuclear agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, fear that Iran is trying to produce a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies the charges.

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.