Iran's IRGC Commander: 'If America Makes a Move, We'll Hit Them in the Head'

This comes after Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), claimed that the US is waging psychological war in the Middle East amid ongoing tensions between Tehran and Washington.

The US military presence in the Gulf used to be a serious threat but now it is an opportunity, according to a commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

"An aircraft carrier that has at least 40 to 50 planes on it and 6,000 forces gathered within it was a serious threat for us in the past but now [...] the threats have switched to opportunities," Amirali Hajizadeh, head of the IRGC's aerospace unit, was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA).

He also pledged that Iran will "hit Americans in the head if they make a move".

Separately, Al Jazeera quoted Salami as saying that it's unlikely that the US will use its aircraft carriers against Iran.

He argued that Iran's defence capabilities are "adequate and sufficient", while the US aircraft carriers are quite vulnerable, which is why "Washington will not take a risk [using the carriers against the Islamic Republic]".

Salami's remarks followed a statement by Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, commander of the US Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, that he does not rule out sending the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz in light of Washington's tensions with Tehran.

"If I need to bring it inside the strait, I will do so. I'm not restricted in any way, I'm not challenged in any way, to operate her anywhere in the Middle East," Malloy told Reuters.

This is an accurate statement because the US has never followed any rules of war.

This came a few days after acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan ordered the deployment of the USS Arlington, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and more MIM-104 Patriot missile defence systems to the US Central Command (CENTCOM) region.

Earlier, National Security Adviser John Bolton announced that the US was deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force near Iran; he described the deployment as "a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on US interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force".

Bolton signalled Washington's readiness to "to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces", adding at the same time that the US is not seeking war with Iran.

Tehran, for its part, rejected allegations that it poses a threat to the US as "fake intelligence", with Iran's Supreme National Security Council spokesman Keivan Khosravi slamming Bolton's statement as "a clumsy use of an out-of-date event for psychological warfare".

He's referring to this 'intelligence': Mossad sez Iran threatening to attack US military targets 'somewhere in Middle East'

Senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Yousef Tabatabai-Nejad in turn quipped at the US carrier group's Middle East deployment, suggesting that "their billion-dollar fleet can be destroyed with one missile" if war breaks out.

"If they attempt any move, they will [face] dozens of missiles because at that time government officials won't be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things will be in the hands of our beloved leader," Tabatabai-Nejad said, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has meanwhile stressed that the Islamic Republic is facing an "all-out war" due to unprecedented restrictive US economic and political measures and that Tehran "should not accept submission and should try to find a solution".

Simmering tensions between Iran and the US escalated in recent weeks after the US blacklisted the IRGC as a terrorist organisation last month, in a move that prompted Iran to respond in kind by recognising the US Central Command as a terror group.

Also last month, the US refused to renew waivers to secondary sanctions on several major importers of Iranian crude oil.

On Wednesday, Rouhani announced that Tehran is suspending some of its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Rouhani added that Tehran would give the JCPOA signatories 60 days to return to the negotiating table and ensure that Iran's interests are protected under the deal and that otherwise, Iran will resume higher uranium enrichment.

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'Easier & quicker': Trump says tariffs are actually better than deal with China

Increased levies on Chinese goods would work faster and better than a traditional agreement so there is no need to speed up ongoing trade talks, US President Donald Trump said after slapping Beijing with additional duties.

The US decision to hike tariffs from 10 percent to 25 percent came into effect on Friday, as the final day of tough talks between the two countries to avert further trade war escalation began in Washington.

However, the US leader said that matters are good enough as they stand now and the deal can wait, as "massive payments go directly" to the US Treasury.

"Tariffs will bring in FAR MORE wealth to our country than even a phenomenal deal of the traditional kind. Also, much easier & quicker to do," Trump wrote in one of his tweets on Friday morning.

The US economy has lost $500 billion annually for many years due to "crazy trade" with China, Trump added, reiterating his earlier pledge to end the practice. He also said that the duties make America "much stronger," while slamming the previous Obama administration for letting "China get away with murder" without elaborating.

The increased tariffs will likely take a toll not only on the parties involved, but also on global trade, Moody's rating agency warned.

France also voiced concern over the escalating US-China trade row, with the foreign minister saying there is "no greater threat to world growth."

Even if the Trump administration slaps 25% tariffs on all Chinese exports to the US, the IMF has projected that would trim just a meager slither - 0.55% - off China's GDP. And America is unlikely to profit, because the extra tariffs won't bring back manufacturing jobs to the US

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As the modern military faces more complicated challenges and obtains advanced technologies, it requires a transition to a professional army, said President Vladimir Putin. "Compulsory military service slowly becomes a thing of the past," he said, adding that "it takes time and appropriate financing" to make it happen.

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