Iran moves a mock 650ft US aircraft carrier into the Strait of Hormuz that it 'plans to sink' in navy drills - days after American F-15 buzzed an Iranian airliner

• Satellite images show aircraft carrier being towed to the Strait of Hormuz 
• Suggests Iran is preparing for a similar mock-sinking it conducted in 2015
• Comes after a U.S. F-15 fighter jet approached Iranian passenger flight over Syria

By AP

PUBLISHED: 14:07 AEST, 27 July 2020 | UPDATED: 04:35 AEST, 28 July 2020

Iran has moved a mock 650ft US aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with the United States. 

Satellite photographs released on Monday show the aircraft carrier being towed by a tugboat, likely signalling the Islamic Republic soon plans to use it for live-fire drills.

An image from Maxar Technologies taken Sunday shows an Iranian fast boat speed toward the carrier, sending waves up in its wake, after a tugboat pulled her out into the strait from the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. +5

Iran has moved a mock aircraft carrier to the strategic Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions with the United States. Above, the refurbished mockup aircraft carrier is seen towed by a tugboat near Bandar Abbas+5

A mockup aircraft carrier built by Iran is seen at Bandar Abbas, Iran, on February 15 before being put to sea 

Iranian state media and officials have yet to acknowledge bringing the replica out to the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil passes. However, its appearance there suggests Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard is preparing an encore of a similar mock-sinking it conducted in 2015.

The U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, which patrols Mideast waterways, remains 'confident in our naval forces' ability to defend themselves against any maritime threat,' said spokeswoman Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich when asked about the faux carrier's movements.

'We cannot speak to what Iran hopes to gain by building this mockup, or what tactical value they would hope to gain by using such a mock-up in a training or exercise scenario,' Rebarich told The Associated Press. 

'We do not seek conflict, but remain ready to defend U.S. forces and interests from maritime threats in the region.'+5

An Iranian fast boat, top left, approaches a mockup aircraft carrier built by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Satellite photographs released Monday, July 27, showed Iran has moved the aircraft carrier out to sea likely for naval drills amid heightened tensions between Tehran and the U.S.+5

A mockup aircraft carrier, center left, built by Iran is seen at Bandar Abbas, Iran, before being put to sea

The replica resembles the Nimitz-class carriers that the U.S. Navy routinely sails into the Persian Gulf from the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the waterway. The USS Nimitz, the namesake of the class, just entered Mideast waters late last week from the Indian Ocean, likely to replace the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Arabian Sea.

It remains unclear when or if the Nimitz will pass through the Strait of Hormuz or not during its time in the Mideast. 

The USS Abraham Lincoln, deployed last year as tensions initially spiked, spent months in the Arabian Sea before heading through the strait. The Eisenhower came through the strait early last week.