Iran to hold four-day naval drills with China and Russia.

Russia, Iran and China will hold four-day joint naval manoeuvres that will kick off on December 27, spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces Abolfazl Shekarchi said on Wednesday, December 25 2019.

Yaroslav Mudry guard ship (Picture source: TASS)

The drill, which is to start on Friday, will be the first such trilateral exercise as Tehran seeks to boost military cooperation with Beijing and Moscow amid unprecedented economic sanctions from Washington.

“The joint drills of Iran, China and Russia will begin in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman on Friday and last four days,” the news agency IRNA quoted the spokesman as saying.

As the spokesman said, one of the tasks of the manoeuvres is “to increase experience in international trade security in the region.”

Fighting terrorism and piracy is also among the goals of the exercise, he added.

“Another goal is to exchange experience in rescue operations at sea,” the spokesman said.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi announced on December 3 that Russia, Iran and China would hold joint naval manoeuvres in the Indian Ocean on December 27. The manoeuvres’ preliminary plan was worked out by representatives of the three countries in October. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif noted that the drills should not be viewed as a display of hostility to any country.

It was reported earlier that the Russian Baltic Fleet guard ship Yaroslav Mudry accompanied by the tanker Yelnya and the sea tug Viktor Konetsky had set off for Iran after wrapping up the Indra-2019 joint multiservice force drills with India.

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