Iran Launches Large-Scale Land, Sea, Air Military Drill
Iran’s army is holding a large-scale military drill that involves sea, land and air units simulating both offensive and defensive actions. The drill launched on Sunday comes less than a week after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it stopped a week earlier an attempt by the US Navy to seize an oil tanker in the Sea of Oman. Iran’s army and the IRGC have held several large-scale drills in different parts of the country in recent months. The drill is expected to last for several days.
State TV video clips of the first day of the exercises, showing speedboats at sea, soldiers boarding combat helicopters, and commandos parachuting out of aircraft and landing on the beach, Al Jazeera reported.
The exercises will be held on 386,000 sq miles of area east of the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, and northern parts of the Indian Ocean, Abdolrahim Mousavi, commander-in-chief of Iran’s army, told state television, according to reports.
On Thursday, Iran marked the 42nd anniversary of the takeover of the American Embassy in Tehran, and the ensuing 444-day hostage crisis. The celebrations included the burning of American and Israeli flags in the street and anti-American rhetoric.
