Back in 2015, Iran Staged a Massive Mock Attack on a U.S. Aircraft Carrier

Some scary history. Iran has carried out a massive attack on a mock version of an American Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Tehran wanted everyone to know about it—state TV broadcasted the military exercise live.(This first appeared back in 2015.)It’s a revealing look at Iranian naval assault tactics, involving several waves of ships backed by helicopters and shore-launched missiles. The timing isn’t a coincidence. The United States and Iran are deadlocked over a deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program.The Iranians built the giant, 1:1-scale mock-up of the carrier on top of a barge almost one year ago. Photos released from Iranian news agencies on Feb. 25 now show it as a smoldering wreck. The missiles Iran fired at it are very real.But don’t panic. The exercise—known as Great Prophet 9—didn’t factor in American escort warships and warplanes responsible for defending real carriers. It was mostly just for show.The exercise occurred near Larak Island near the Strait of Hormuz. On the island, Mohammad Ali Jafari—the chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps—and the head of the conservative parliament watched from stands.