Iran military exercise in Gulf 'irresponsible and reckless', says US navy

New Delhi

United States Navy on Tuesday described Iran military exercise in Gulf 'irresponsible and reckless'. 

The exercises -- dubbed "Prophet Mohammed 14th" -- were held near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping lane for a fifth of global oil output.

The exercises were staged amid heightened tensions between Iran and its decades-old arch enemy the United States.

Footage of the war games broadcast on state television showed the Guards' air and naval forces readying for an attack off the country's southwest coast.

Speedboats skimmed across the water in formation before ground forces fired cannons and a missile was launched from a helicopter.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards also blasted a mock-up of a US aircraft carrier with missiles, state television said.

The mock-up of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier came into view with rows of dummy fighter jets on either side of its landing strip.

The television then cut to rockets being fired out to sea from the backs of trucks, before showing damage to the hull of the mock-up aircraft carrier.

Another missile fired from a helicopter left a trail of smoke before appearing to smash into the side of the fake warship.

"What was shown today in these exercises, at the level of aerospace and naval forces, was all offensive," Guards commander Major General Hossein Salami told state television.

(With inputs from AFP)