The joint Iranian-Russian naval maneuvers began today in the northern Indian Ocean, and include thwarting a simulation of a pirate attack on a merchant ship, and Indian forces joined it.
Iranian Navy Commander Major General Hossein Khanzadi said that the exercises between the two countries aim to expand joint cooperation to enhance security at the regional level.
An informed source told Al-Jazeera that the Indian naval forces arrived today and joined the Iranian and Russian naval forces in these exercises, which will last for 3 days.
The maneuvers, called the "Maritime Security Belt", are being held over an area of 17,000 square kilometers, with the participation of units of the Iranian Army and Revolutionary Guard naval forces, in addition to Russian naval units.
The spokesman for the joint exercises, Admiral Ghulam Reza Tahani, said that these exercises carry a message of peace and friendship, and that it is necessary for the region to be secured by their countries, not by relying on buying security from abroad.
The content of the exercises
In statements to state television, Tahani added that day and night shooting training took place, and that the exercises also included "a variety of defensive formations, up to the main part of the exercises, which will be the liberation of a merchant ship attacked by pirates."
The Russian Baltic Sea Fleet said in a statement on Monday that 3 Russian naval vessels will participate in the maneuvers, explaining that the latter will include "liberating a merchant ship hijacked by pirates" and exercises to extinguish fires at sea.
Russia and Iran conducted similar exercises with China in the Indian Ocean in December 2019 in the same area where the current exercises are taking place. Tehran also participated in the "Caucasus 2020" military exercises that were held in Russia with the participation of several countries last September.