Iran Navy launches 2nd day of Velayat 91 naval drills

Iran’s Navy has started the second day of a specialized naval exercise, dubbed Velayat 91, in a vast area to display the country’s capabilities to defend its maritime borders and maintain durable peace in the region.

The six-day maritime maneuvers, launched on Friday, are 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.

On the first day of the massive drill, a fleet of surface and subsurface vessels were sent to the location of the exercise.

“Among the aims of the drill is to display the capabilities of Iran’s Armed Forces and the Navy to defend our country’s water borders and interests in line with establishing durable security in the region and conveying the message of peace and friendship to the neighboring states,” Iran’s Navy commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on Friday.

He said that the Velayat 91 drill also sends this message to enemies that the Iranian nation seriously defends its vital interests in all areas, in particular in free waters.

Over the past few years, Iran has held several military drills to enhance the defensive capabilities of its armed forces and to test modern military tactics and equipment.

Iran’s Navy launched the massive 10-day Velayat 90 naval exercise on December 24, 2011.

The drill covered an area stretching from the east of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Aden. Apart from military tactics, different domestically-built pieces of equipment were also tested in the drill.

The Islamic Republic has repeatedly assured other nations, especially neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.