The Chinese defence ministry on Sunday said Russia, China and Iran will hold joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean later this month.
Russian state media TASS reported that the ‘Security Belt-2025’ joint exercise will be held later in March and it would not far from Iran, the Chinese defense ministry said in the statement.
Iranian state media mentioning the media office for Iran’s military drills said that the exercises will be held on March 10.
Chinese state media said that Chinese fleet includes a destroyer and a supply ship. The exercise plan includes drills on striking maritime targets, damage control, as well as joint search and rescue. The aim is to strengthen military mutual trust and foster pragmatic cooperation among the naval forces of the participating countries, the Chinese defence ministry said, according to Xinhua.
As per the Irna report, observers from the Azerbaijan Republic, South Africa, Oman, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the UAE, and Sri Lanka will monitor the exercise.
Vessels from the Iranian Navy and the Naval Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will also participate in the drills that mark the seventh edition of “Security Belt” exercises by Iran, Russia and China, according to the media office of Iran.
An agreement was signed in January this year between the Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian, to boost cooperation in areas including trade and the military.
Ties between Iran and the US have come under strain after US president Donald Trump called for a deal to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, a move Tehran condemned as “bullying”.
Earlier this week, Trump said that he sent a letter to the Iranian leadership seeking to initiate talks on a nuclear deal, as per Al Jazeera. Following this, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei said that “there are two ways Iran can be handled: militarily, or you make a deal” to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Speaking during a meeting with senior Iranian officials, Khamenei dismissed the entire premise, accusing the US of seeking even greater restrictions than in previous negotiations. “Some bully governments insist on negotiations,” he said, according to state media. “But their negotiations are not aimed at solving issues, but to dominate and impose their own expectations,” he said, as per Al Jazeera.
On Thursday, the US imposed a new round of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry, Iran’s main source of income. The measures targeted firms, ships and individuals affiliated with companies already sanctioned by the US. Under Biden, the US routinely issued such penalties to enforce existing sanctions, Al Jazeera reported.
