Islamic Iran plans major naval drill in Persian Gulf

Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said his forces will conduct naval exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf in February.

Real Admiral Ali Fadavi told FNA the exercises next month would focus directly on the Strait of Hormuz, which leads out of the Persian Gulf and provides the outlet for most Mid-East oil.

“Today the Islamic Republic of Iran has full domination over the region and controls all movements within it,” Fadavi said.

An estimated 40 percent of the world’s oil supply passes through the waterway.

Fadavi stressed that the upcoming exercises would be the seventh staging of an annual drill called “The Great Messenger”.

Fadavi said the next round of wargames would be “different” from previous ones. He did not elaborate. The admiral said the drill would take place in the Iranian month of Bahman, which roughly corresponds to February.

The IRGC has the same air, naval and ground branches as the regular military. They are also in charge of Iran’s missile program.

The Iranian Army’s Naval Force also held a 10-day drill which ended on Monday in neighboring seas and the Strait of Hormuz.