Russia, China, Iran to Hold Naval Drills
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran said on Saturday it will stage a naval drill with Russia and China in international waters after the U.S. announced plans to send troops to the Middle East.
"The joint drill will be held in the north of the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Oman,” said General Ghadir Nezamipour, head of international affairs and defense diplomacy at Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces. "We have made no plan whatsoever to hold such a drill in the Persian Gulf.”
The joint exercise will be the first by Iran, China and Russia in the Indian Ocean.
The announcement came less than 24 hours after the U.S. said it would send a "moderate” number of American troops to the region and additional missile capabilities to Saudi Arabia in response to last week’s strikes on the kingdom’s oil facilities.
Tensions in the Persian Gulf skyrocketed after the attack, with the U.S. blaming Iran for the assault, and Iran insisting it wasn’t responsible and warning that retaliatory strikes on its soil would lead to "all-out war.” The U.S. on Friday slapped "the highest sanctions ever imposed” on Iran’s central bank and sovereign wealth fund.
The attacks in Saudi Arabia were claimed by Yemen’s Houthi fighters, who are battling an all-out Saudi invasion backed by the United States.
Nezamipour said the exercises have different goals, including exchange of tactical and military experiences.
"Officials at the level of defense minister, chief of staff of the armed forces and commanders of the armed forces will come to Iran in the near future and these actions reflect Iran’s active defense diplomacy,” he said.
"The timing of the joint exercise might be a bit sensitive and some might take it as a show of China’s support for Iran should there be any military conflicts between countries,” Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie told South China Morning Post.
"But it might well be a regular military exchange between the countries if it is held in international waters and without targeting another country.”
Ni Lexiong, a military specialist and professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said the drill was to send the message that China would side with Iran "in extreme scenarios”.
"I don’t see things will go that far, but the navy drill is to send the intimidating message,” Ni told the English-language Chinese newspaper.
Two years ago China and Iran conducted a joint naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf after Washington accused Tehran of sending fast attack boats to harass U.S. warships passing through the area.
Major General Muhammad Baqeri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, was in Beijing for a three-day visit earlier this month and agreed that the two countries would have more visits with senior military officials and advance cooperation in training.
China still accounts for more than half of Iran’s oil exports, according to the United States, complicating Washington’s efforts to economically isolate Tehran through its "maximum pressure campaign”.
"The joint drill will be held in the north of the Indian Ocean and the Sea of Oman,” said General Ghadir Nezamipour, head of international affairs and defense diplomacy at Iran’s General Staff of the Armed Forces. "We have made no plan whatsoever to hold such a drill in the Persian Gulf.”
The joint exercise will be the first by Iran, China and Russia in the Indian Ocean.
The announcement came less than 24 hours after the U.S. said it would send a "moderate” number of American troops to the region and additional missile capabilities to Saudi Arabia in response to last week’s strikes on the kingdom’s oil facilities.
Tensions in the Persian Gulf skyrocketed after the attack, with the U.S. blaming Iran for the assault, and Iran insisting it wasn’t responsible and warning that retaliatory strikes on its soil would lead to "all-out war.” The U.S. on Friday slapped "the highest sanctions ever imposed” on Iran’s central bank and sovereign wealth fund.
The attacks in Saudi Arabia were claimed by Yemen’s Houthi fighters, who are battling an all-out Saudi invasion backed by the United States.
Nezamipour said the exercises have different goals, including exchange of tactical and military experiences.
"Officials at the level of defense minister, chief of staff of the armed forces and commanders of the armed forces will come to Iran in the near future and these actions reflect Iran’s active defense diplomacy,” he said.
"The timing of the joint exercise might be a bit sensitive and some might take it as a show of China’s support for Iran should there be any military conflicts between countries,” Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie told South China Morning Post.
"But it might well be a regular military exchange between the countries if it is held in international waters and without targeting another country.”
Ni Lexiong, a military specialist and professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said the drill was to send the message that China would side with Iran "in extreme scenarios”.
"I don’t see things will go that far, but the navy drill is to send the intimidating message,” Ni told the English-language Chinese newspaper.
Two years ago China and Iran conducted a joint naval exercise near the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf after Washington accused Tehran of sending fast attack boats to harass U.S. warships passing through the area.
Major General Muhammad Baqeri, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, was in Beijing for a three-day visit earlier this month and agreed that the two countries would have more visits with senior military officials and advance cooperation in training.
China still accounts for more than half of Iran’s oil exports, according to the United States, complicating Washington’s efforts to economically isolate Tehran through its "maximum pressure campaign”.