( CNN ) -- The Iranians are coming ! The Iranians are coming ! Well , OK , maybe not . But if a couple of vessels flying the colors of the Islamic republic do appear off American shores sometime soon , do n't panic . Even if it happens -- something U.S. officials have called into question -- the point of any such voyage appears to be to make a public-relations splash . `` What this does is , to people who do n't know anything about sea power , which is a fairly substantial number of people in the developing world , it looks like a major gesture , '' U.S. military analyst Anthony Cordesman told CNN . `` Within Iran 's sort of politics , it follows a long theme of Republican Guard and other statements that Iran can defeat the United States . '' But Cordesman , who holds the Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies , said the reported Iranian flotilla -- led by an aging frigate the U.S. Navy once nearly sunk -- poses no risk to the world 's biggest naval power . `` Deploying a military museum is not going to threaten to the United States , '' he said . The semi-official Iranian news agency Fars quoted the head of Iran 's navy over the weekend as saying an Iranian flotilla `` is approaching the United States ' maritime borders '' as a response to the U.S. decision to beef up its naval presence in the Persian Gulf . Adm. Afshin Rezayee Haddad said the Iranian ships were nearing the southern tip of Africa en route to the Atlantic Ocean . A U.S. military official , speaking on condition of anonymity , said there was no information to support the claim , and there was no other corroboration of the report from Tehran . Iran announced plans to send ships toward the U.S. maritime borders twice in 2011 ; neither deployment materialized . But Iran 's Press TV reported in January that the frigate Sabalan and the supply ship Kharg , which also carries helicopters , were headed to the Atlantic `` to provide the safety of Iran 's shipping lines in international waters and to provide training for the new recruits . '' The 300-foot Sabalan went into service in 1972 . It was heavily damaged in a skirmish with American forces in 1988 , when U.S. warships were dispatched to protect international oil tankers during Iran 's war with Iraq . The announcement comes as Iran prepares to mark the 35th anniversary of the revolution that toppled Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi . The Pentagon sounded unfazed by the Fars report . `` Aspirations not new . Freedom of seas applies to all , so long as they understand responsibilities of that freedom , '' Rear Adm. John Kirby , the Pentagon 's press secretary , posted on Twitter . Most of Iran 's navy is made up of small attack craft , about two dozen of which are armed with missiles , according to the authoritative Jane 's Fighting Ships . Its biggest warships are the Sabalan and its four sister frigates , along with two smaller and lighter corvettes and 14 diesel-electric submarines . Tehran previously dispatched ships to patrol the Gulf of Oman and Indian Ocean for Somali pirates , capturing 13 during a 2012 engagement . It also dispatched warships to the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal in 2011 and 2012 -- moves billed as carrying messages of `` peace and friendship '' to the region , but which also tweaked the nose of regional foe Israel . But the navy 's main mission is to defend its home waters in the Persian Gulf and control the Strait of Hormuz . While it has the potential to attack its rivals in a hit-and-run fashion , `` That 's not the kind of force you can deploy outside the Gulf , '' Cordesman said . `` Iran can sort of make demonstrative gestures and sail in international waters off the U.S. East Coast , or West Coast for that matter , '' Cordesman said . `` But it 's not much more threatening than if somebody showed up in a rowboat . '' Iran touts launch of new missiles ; U.S. says it 's watching closely . CNN 's Barbara Starr contributed to this report .
` ` Deploying a military force is not going to threaten to the United States , '' analyst says . Iran announced last week that it would deploy troops to waters off the United States . The Pentagon sounds unfazed by the announcement .