Iran, Russia to hold joint naval drill in Gulf of Oman

Iran and Russia will hold a joint naval exercise on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean, an Iranian naval commander said.

Iranian naval commander Captain Hassan Maqsoudlou said the combined naval exercise of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy and the Russian Federation Navy will take place in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean region, according to the Iranian official news agency IRNA.

The drill aims to "expand joint maritime cooperation and strengthen coordination" between the two navies in planning and carrying out combined operations, Maqsoudlou said.

Holding the exercise alongside other drills by Iran's armed forces reflects both countries' attention to developments in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean, and demonstrates their commitment to enhancing maritime cooperation, countering unilateralism and supporting maritime trade security in the region, IRNA reported.

For his part, Russia's Navy Force Commander Cap. Alexey Sergeev said: "We are ready to hold joint exercises in any region," IRNA reported.

The Iranian-Russian exercises come as Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) started a military drill in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday amid tensions with the US.

A statement by the IRGC's public relations division said the "Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz" exercise aims to assess the operational readiness of its naval forces.

The following day, Tehran and Washington conducted a second round of indirect nuclear negotiations in Geneva, under Omani mediation.

On Feb. 6, Oman hosted a round of indirect talks in Muscat amid a US military buildup in the region.