TEHRAN -- The commander of the Iranian Navy on Sunday said a recent joint drill between Iran, Russia and China in the north of the Indian Ocean proved that regional countries are able to provide peace and calm for their own people.
“This maneuver sent a regional message, especially to friendly countries and the resistance axis, and reminded that ... we can establish security in the region on the strength of our own domestic capabilities, and provide peace and tranquility for our people,” Admiral Shahram Irani said.
“This exercise reminded the regional countries and the sworn enemies of the Islamic Revolution that the unipolar world has been dismantled on global level.”
The joint drill “also proved that countries that act independently within the international system and are concerned about ensuring security can work together to present a new model in which they will be able to provide marine safety and security, which in turn, will lead to the strengthening of global peace”, he added.
Iran, Russia, and China staged joint military drills in the north of the Indian Ocean last week, with vessels from the three countries hitting pre-determined targets at sea.
The “2022 Marine Security Belt” exercise marked the third of such joint exercises between the three countries.
“Together for peace and security” was the theme of the exercise, which covered an area of 17,000 square kilometers and included both navies from Iran’s Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), as well as the Russian and Chinese naval forces.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Adm. Irani said one of the main features of the joint maneuver was that Iran, Russia and China brought three different military styles to the exercise, not similar in terms of performance and equipment, and every country took advantage of its own special military hardware.
The trio succeeded in achieving their objectives in the drill, he said.
The enemies, he said, use their powerful media outlets to portray the region as insecure in line with their interests.
“Unfortunately, some regional countries are deceived and follow them due to the weakness they have in their governing structures,” he said.
“If these states focused on the regional potentials and capacities instead of falling in line with actors from outside the region, the enemy would be stripped of its last excuses to be in the region.”