Tensions in the Gulf have surged to a new and dangerous peak after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard issued its starkest warning yet, vowing to target a U.S. aircraft carrier with what it claims is a new generation of supersonic anti‑ship missiles.

In a televised address, a senior Guard commander boasted that Iran now fields missiles “too fast to stop,” declaring that any U.S. strike on Iranian soil or nuclear facilities would trigger an immediate attack on “the American floating bases in our region” — a thinly veiled reference to carrier strike groups currently operating in the Arabian Sea. State media followed with dramatic footage of test launches and animations showing a carrier engulfed in fire.

At the Pentagon, officials dismissed the rhetoric as “reckless and escalatory,” but quietly confirmed that U.S. warships and escorts have shifted into maximum defensive posture. Aegis destroyers have been repositioned, air patrols increased, and electronic‑warfare assets brought forward to track any missile activity along Iran’s coast. Privately, defense analysts admit that even an exaggerated supersonic threat compresses reaction time to mere seconds — raising the odds that a misread radar blip could trigger all‑out war.

European diplomats are scrambling to reopen back‑channel talks, warning that the standoff has entered a phase where one launch, or even one false alarm, could change history. For now, the carrier’s decks remain busy with flight operations — and every takeoff is shadowed by the question: is today the day a threat turns into a launch?