Iranian state news quoted a commander as saying his country plans to have a "powerful presence" near the U. border.

In response, White House spokesman Jay Carney said that "we don't take these statements seriously, given that they do not reflect at all Iran's naval capabilities."

Pentagon spokesman George Little echoed Carney's point, saying Iran has the right to send vessels into international waters, but "whether they can truly project naval power beyond the region is another question."

State-run Press TV in Iran said similar plans were announced in July. However, no Iranian warships ever deployed. In February, two Iranian navy vessels traversed the Suez Canal in the first such voyage by Iranian ships since 1979.

Richard Herrmann, director of the Mershon Center for International Security Studies at The Ohio State University, said Iran's navy is too small with too miniscule a budget to remain for long off the US coast.

Michael Connell, the director of the Iranian studies program at CNA, a Washington-area think tank that specializes in naval analyses, agreed with Herrmann.