A replica of a U.S. aircraft carrier floating off the coast of Iran has sparked some interest from the West. The New York Times recently broke the story and suggested Iran could be building the replica to blow it up for propaganda purposes.
Iranian media said Sunday that the ship was actually built for a film and has no sinister purpose.
According to Reuters, Iranian newspapers say it is “part of the décor” for a movie being made about the 1988 incident where a U.S. vessel shot down an Iranian civilian airplane, killing 290 passengers and crew.
Alef news website was displeased with the negative conclusions about the fake warship.
“The issue has turned into a good excuse for another wave of hype against Iran. Without any proof or real basis, Western media have jumped again to paint a more negative picture of Iran.”
Jason Salata, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, told Reuters that the aircraft carrier did look more like a movie set than an actual warship.
“We know it’s not an actual aircraft carrier. It’s made to look like one of ours…but makes us wonder: what is it all for?”
Iranian officials declined to comment.
