Tense sea encounter between Iran and US Navy

Iran will have to get itself an aircraft carrier but, do it on the cheap and use what's easily on hand. The Chinese were smart to finish the ex-Soviet Varyag hull and make it into a training carrier of sorts: the Liaoning. Iran could do something similar with a North Atlantic container ship.

How? Iran needs to get a big Maersk container ship. Move the bunkhouse and navigation island off the stern and put the crew below decks. Build a command and control island off to the side, like an aircraft carrier. Build a flight deck over the top, like was done before WW2 when heavy cruisers were sometimes used for the conversion. For a catapult, put a groove down the deck, mount a skip that drags the front wheel to add speed and energy for takeoff, and simply use a very powerful electric motor to do the work. It may not be as powerful as a steam catapult but, it's better than nothing and Iran needs to keep it simple. Build an elevator opposite the island for obvious reasons.

For suitable aircraft, since Iran won't be projecting power like an imperial crime syndicate (Washington), shorter range aircraft will suffice for its region. Maybe Iran could make a deal with Embaer and create a navalized version of the Super Tucano ground attack aircraft. Iran has been slacking in developing a fighter jet. I haven't seen any evidence that they have even tried to build a good working jet engine. There's no excuse for that They've got to get away from copying the F5 and start coming up with a new version of the Folland Gnat. A super small high performance fighter that would be hard to see or shoot down. It could operate easily from a carrier as I suggested and a lot of them could fit below decks.