Iran plans major naval maneuver

-- Iran’s Naval Forces are set to hold a major maneuver as part of efforts to demonstrate the country’s combat and defense capabilities.

Navy Commander Ali Mohammad Salami said Tuesday that the Iranian navy would conduct a military exercise, dubbed Caspian (Khazar) border watch, to enhance its naval capabilities.

“The extensive maneuvers will prepare Iranian forces for countering possible threats,” said the Iranian commander.

Iran will display eighty of its war vessels in the three-day maneuver.

Earlier in July, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) conducted a six-day military drill during which it successfully test-fired various advanced shore-to-sea, surface-to-surface and sea-to-air missiles.

Iranian military officials, however, said the IRGC maneuvers in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz were solely aimed at demonstrating the country’s defensive military capabilities and were in no way intended to threaten regional states.

Iran’s military exercise came as a response to an early June maneuver staged by Israel believed to be in preparation for a possible war on Iran.

A New York Times report revealed that over 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15s flew more than 900 miles off the southern Mediterranean island of Crete, roughly the distance from Israeli airfields to Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities.

While the U.S. and Israel accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program, the most recent UN nuclear watchdog report conceded that there is no link between the use of nuclear material and ‘the alleged studies’ of weaponization attributed to the Islamic Republic by Western countries.

(Source: Press TV)

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