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Iranian film hails demise of US Navy in imagined Gulf battle

This image provided courtesy of the Fatemeh al-Zahra Animation Group, shows a scene from the Iranian animated film, "Battle of the Persian Gulf II." The film by Iranian director and screenwriter, Farhad Azima, imagines a devastating response to an American attack on the country’s nuclear program. In a climactic battle at sea, an Iranian commander orders his forces to open fire on a much larger U.S. fleet, obliterating it with a barrage of rockets, some of which tear American flags from their masts. (Courtesy of The Fatemeh al-Zahra Animation Group via AP)
This image provided courtesy of the Fatemeh al-Zahra Animation Group, shows a scene from the Iranian animated film, "Battle of the Persian Gulf II." The film by Iranian director and screenwriter, Farhad Azima, imagines a devastating response to an American attack on the country’s nuclear program. In a climactic battle at sea, an Iranian commander orders his forces to open fire on a much larger U.S. fleet, obliterating it with a barrage of rockets, some of which tear American flags from their masts. (Courtesy of The Fatemeh al-Zahra Animation Group via AP) This image provided courtesy of the Fatemeh al-Zahra Animation Group, shows a scene from the Iranian animated film, "Battle of the Persian Gulf II." The film by Iranian director and screenwriter, Farhad Azima, imagines a devastating response to an American attack on the country’s nuclear program. In a climactic battle at sea, an Iranian commander orders his forces to open fire on a much larger U.S. fleet, obliterating it with a barrage of rockets, some of which tear American flags from their masts. (Courtesy of The Fatemeh al-Zahra Animation Group via AP)

By Associated Press 3 min read

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – In a climactic battle at sea, an Iranian commander orders his forces to open fire on a much larger U.S. fleet, obliterating it with a barrage of rockets, some of which tear American flags from their masts.

The scenario unfolds in “Battle of the Persian Gulf II,” a new Iranian animated film more than four years in the making that imagines a devastating response to an American attack on the country’s nuclear program.

It might have seemed out of date this time last year, when a nuclear accord reached with world powers had lifted sanctions and raised hopes for a broader rapprochement between Iran and the West.

But now tensions are rising again. President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the nuclear deal, and his administration put Iran a href=’https://www.apnews.com/5bf513a8f37f49ea95eaa20cc6c8ce3b/US-puts-Iran-‘on-notice’-after-missile-test,-won’t-elaborate'”on notice”/a last month after it tested a ballistic missile. Iranians were meanwhile angered over Trump’s travel ban, which temporarily barred their entry to the United States before it was blocked by the courts.

Director Farhad Azima says the timing of the film’s release is purely coincidental. The movie has begun showing in the city of Mashhad, where it was produced, and will open in other cities in the coming weeks.