image Photo: Reuters

Iran holds major maritime drill 

The Iranian Military is currently holding a wide-scale exercise in a large maritime region in the Persian Gulf, stretching from the Sea of Oman to the North Indian Ocean.

The Islamic Republic is seemingly making an extensive show of force during the three-day drill, in the face of foreign deployment in the region by global and regional adversaries; most notably by the United States.

Iranian Military spokesman Commodore Shahram Irani was cited by domestic media as saying, “foreign manned and unmanned aircraft had been cautioned on Wednesday to avoid the exercises taking place over 2 million square kilometers of ocean.” He further claimed in his statement that the U.S. Navy “changed (its) behavior” after receiving the Iranian warning.

The U.S. Fifth Fleet, which is stationed in the area, did not immediately respond to TV7’s request for comment.

On another, yet related, note; Iran announced its participation in a joint military exercise in southern Russia later this month, dubbed “Caucus 2020,” which will also include the participation of the Chinese and Pakistani Militaries, among others.