Iranian TV airs simulated bombing of Tel Aviv, US aircraft carrier

Clip shows simulated strikes on Ben Gurion Airport, Haifa, USS Abraham Lincoln in retaliation for hypothetical attack on Iran

Ilan Ben Zion is an AFP reporter and a former news editor at The Times of Israel.

Iranian TV airs a program in February 2014 showing computerized shots of Tel Aviv being bombed by Iran in retaliation for an American or Israeli strike on Iran. (screen capture: YouTube)
Iranian TV airs a program in February 2014 showing computerized shots of Tel Aviv being bombed by Iran in retaliation for an American or Israeli strike on Iran. (screen capture: YouTube)

Iranian state TV on Friday ran a documentary featuring a computerized video of Iran’s drones and missiles bombing Tel Aviv, Haifa, Ben Gurion Airport and the Dimona nuclear reactor in a hypothetical retaliation for an Israeli or American strike on the Islamic Republic.

Iranian drones and missiles are also shown carrying out simulated strikes on the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, downing American aircraft and striking American military targets in the Persian Gulf.

The clip was broadcast amid a clear escalation of anti-American rhetoric and even action by Iran: On Saturday, an Iranian admiral announced that Iran had despatched warships to the North Atlantic, while Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei denounced the Americans as liars who, while professing to be friends of Iran, would bring down his regime if they could. He also said it was “amusing” that the US thought Iran would reduce its “defensive capabilities.”

The film, entitled “The Nightmare of Vultures,” opens with Supreme Leader Khamenei addressing military academy graduates in 2011, warning: “Anybody who thinks of attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran should be prepared to receive strong slaps and iron fists from the Armed Forces.”

“And America, its regional puppets and its guard dog – the Zionist regime – should know that the response of the Iranian nation to any kind of aggression, attacks or even threats will be a response that will make them collapse from within,” the film shows him saying.

Set to dramatic music, the video shows Iranian drones and missiles carrying out strikes against Tel Aviv’s Kikar Hamedina square, the Azrieli Towers skyscrapers, and the IDF’s Kirya central command complex, as well as Ben Gurion International Airport, Haifa’s Technion, several army and air force bases, and the nuclear reactor in Dimona.

The strike on the Israel’s central command building is shown taking place while former prime minister Ehud Olmert and former defense minister Amir Peretz — who served in that capacity during the 2006 Second Lebanon War — are inside convening a meeting.

Iranian TV aired a program showing computerized shots of Ben Gurion Airport being bombed by Iran in retaliation for an American or Israeli strike on Iran. (screen capture: YouTube)
Iranian TV aired a program showing computerized shots of Ben Gurion Airport being bombed by Iran in retaliation for an American or Israeli strike on Iran. (screen capture: YouTube)

The clips of drone strikes on Israel are interspersed with shots of Israeli emergency personnel evacuating injured Israeli civilians and soldiers while air raid sirens wail.

A barrage of missiles brings down Tel Aviv’s skyscrapers in a final blow.

Iranian TV aired a program showing computerized shots of Tel Aviv being bombed by Iran in retaliation for an American or Israeli strike on Iran. (screen capture: YouTube)
Iranian TV aired a program showing computerized shots of Tel Aviv being bombed by Iran in retaliation for an American or Israeli strike on Iran. (screen capture: YouTube)

Afterwards, Iranian drones and missiles are show attacking the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on its way through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf. Iranian drones are shown downing several American aircraft before sinking the US capital ship. Zooming out to a map of the Middle East marked with US military bases, Iranian missiles are then shown striking American military targets across the Persian Gulf. 

In November, Iranian state television aired a shorter animated clip showing Iranian missiles targeting Israeli cities.

Iranian leaders have made repeated threats to wipe Israel off the map, and have threatened to annihilate Tel Aviv should Iran’s nuclear facilities be attacked by the West.

Most Popular
read more: