A commander in Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that U.S. regional bases and its aircraft carriers in the Gulf are within the range of Iranian missiles, Tasnim News Agency reported, amid heightened tension between Tehran and Washington. 

"American bases are within the range of our missiles ... Our missiles will destroy their aircraft carriers if they make a mistake," said Hossein Nejat. "Americans are very well aware of the consequences of a military confrontation with Iran." 

The tension between longtime foes Iran and the United States has sharply increased in recent weeks, a year after Washington exited the 2015 deal between Iran and world powers to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international financial sanctions.

(Cover: Simorgh rocket is launched and tested at the Imam Khomeini Space Center, Iran, July 27, 201. /Reuters Photo)