Tehran has started a six-day naval drill aimed to show "the armed
forces' military capabilities" in confronting enemy threats, and also
conveying the message of peace to its neighbors. The training is being
conducted in key Strait of Hormuz.
The
drill, dubbed Velayat 91, or Guardianship 91, also sends a message to
Iran's enemies that the country takes defending its vital interests
very seriously, the country’s naval commander Habibollah Sayyari said.
He added that the drill is aimed at sending the neighbors a message of friendship and peace.
“Among
the aims of the drill is to display the capabilities of Iran’s Armed
Forces and the Navy to defend our country’s water borders and interests
in line with establishing durable security in the region and conveying
the message of peace and friendship to the neighboring states,” Commander Sayyari was quoted by Iranian Press TV.
The
maneuvers, involving testing warships, submarines, jet fighters and
hovercrafts, are to be conducted across an area of about 1 million
square kilometers in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and
northern parts of the Indian Ocean, local IRNA news agency reported
quoting the commander as saying.
Commander Sayyari added that
during the maneuver the 23rd fleet of the Navy, which includes Busheher
warship and Jamaran destroyer, will practice fighting piracy as part of
the mission. The fleet will escort Iran’s merchant vessels and oil
tankers.
Iran's state TV said that Tehran had warned ships to stay away from the site until January 3.
The drill has started earlier on Friday as a fleet of surface and subsurface vessels arrived to the location of exercises.
On
the first day of the training, the destroyer Jamaran closely monitored
the movements of the mock enemy and sent collected information to the
headquarters of the drill, Press TV reported.
Last
December, Iran conducted naval drills in an area stretching from the
east of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden.
The
Iranian Navy is considered to be the most powerful and efficient in the
Persian Gulf, having at its disposal five corvettes, 20 missile boats,
20 torpedo boats, 13 amphibious ships, 28 auxiliary ships, three
submarines, 22 aircraft and 15 helicopters.
Screenshot from Iribnews video
The
recent drill is seen as a measure to prevent any possible attempts to
block the key shipping route, that accounts for more than a third of
the world's seaborne oil exports from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq,
the UAE and Qatar.
Such a drill is a routine practice, Professor Seyed Mohammad Marandi from the University of Tehran told RT, however, he added, the timing and the place it's being carried are significant.
“I
think that the place where the military operations and manoeuvres are
carried out is also significant because Iranians want to remind the
West that any war or battle in the region would be devastating for the
oil and gas market and the world economy,” Marandi told RT.
The
Strait became the focus of tensions after Tehran threatening to block
the route in retaliation for international sanctions over its alleged
nuclear weapons program. The US pledged to keep the strategic oil lane
open.
Commander Sayyari said earlier this week that Iran has
experienced a leap in the expansion of its subsurface capabilities
recently.
"Iran's subsurface power has been enhanced to a remarkable degree in recent months," he said, adding that "Our surface and subsurface tactics, which used to be inspired by foreign tactics, have now become fully indigenized."
Screenshot from Iribnews video
Iran
has been constantly upgrading its military capabilities lately. In
recent years, Iran declared it had made great achievements in the
defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in essential military
equipment and systems. The country produces its own tanks,
self-propelled guns and multiple rocket launchers. This September,
Iran's navy announced the launch of the overhauled super-heavy Tareq
901 submarine. Iran is also actively engaged in missile development.
Its Shahab-3 long-range ballistic rocket has range of 5,000km – meaning
it could reach Israel and all US military bases in the Persian Gulf.
The
West, under the auspices of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), accuses Iran of developing a weapon of mass destruction. The
agency demands the access to the Parchin military base southeast of
Tehran, where it is believed Tehran has been tested elements of its
nuclear program.
Iran denies the allegations, saying it is
pursuing peaceful nuclear development, maintaining that it needs
uranium as fuel for research reactors and eventually for nuclear power
plants.
Marandi says that even though Iranians are preparing to
respond to an attack, in general they feel that any military assault
against them is “highly unlikely.”
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