Iranian Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi. Photo: The Iran Project.

The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Navy said the United States is too afraid to attack Iran, Tehran’s semi-official news agency Fars reported on Saturday.

During a ceremonial address in Kashan, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said that the losses the United States would suffer as a result would far outweigh any gains it achieved. “That’s why it wouldn’t even dream of attacking,” Fadavi said.

Instead, said Fadavi, the United States has opted for a more underhanded method: targeting and attempting to weaken countries following the Iranian revolutionary model — presumably referring to Iraq and Syria. “However, this too is doomed to fail,” he said.

Iranian military officials routinely boast about the Islamic Republic’s military prowess and capability of defeating the US. The Fars report said that last November, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, commander of the Iranian Navy, said the country’s enemies — a common euphemism for America — “would not even dare to look askance at Iran out of fear of our military readiness.”