Iran Navy Planning Naval Drills in Free Waters

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari stressed his forces’ capability to conduct exercises outside the country’s territorial waters, adding that the Navy plans to stage wargames in free waters in the second half of the current Iranian year (September, 2013-March, 2014).

According to Fars news agency, Sayyari told reporters in Tehran on Sunday “The Velayat 2 naval drills will be held in free waters in the second half of the current year.”
He added “Different units, including surface, subsurface, air and airborne units, will participate in the drills.”
Sayyari didn’t specify the exact date of the exercises, and said it depends on the conditions and will be announced later.
The Iranian Navy finished 6 days of massive naval exercises, codenamed Velayat 91, in the country’s Southern waters in January.
The naval drills were carried out in the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, North of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.
During the exercises, the Navy test-fired various types of long-range missiles from coasts and navy vessels.
Different types of short and long-range coast-to-sea, surface-to-surface, surface-to-air missiles were also tested by Iranian troops and vessels. Iranian submarines also launched smart torpedoes during the drills.