China, Russia, Iran to hold joint military exercises
(COMBO) This combination of two images created on May 13, 2024 shows China’s President Xi Jinping (L) during the closing session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 10, 2024, and a pool photo distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik showing Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (R) meeting with commanders of units involved in the country’s military action in Ukraine, in Moscow on May 7, 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China this week on the invitation of leader Xi Jinping, Beijing’s foreign ministry said May 14, 2024. (Photo by GREG BAKER and Gavriil GRIGOROV / various sources / AFP)
TEHRAN, Iran — The navies of Iran, Russia, and China will hold military drills off the coast of Iran this week in a bid to boost cooperation, Iranian media reported on Sunday.
The three countries, which share a common desire to counter what they characterize as American hegemony, have held similar exercises in the region in recent years.
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The drills “will begin on Tuesday in the port of Chabahar,” located in southeast Iran on the Gulf of Oman, the Tasnim news agency said, without specifying their duration.
“Warships and combat and support vessels of the Chinese and Russian naval forces, as well as the warships of Iran’s naval forces of the army and the Revolutionary Guards,” the ideological arm of Iran’s military, are expected to participate, according to Tasnim.
The exercises will take place “in the northern Indian Ocean” and aim to “strengthen security in the region, and expand multilateral cooperation between participating countries,” Tasnim said.
Azerbaijan, South Africa, Oman, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka will attend as observers.
China will deploy “a destroyer and a supply ship,” Beijing’s defense ministry said on the WeChat social media network.
The Iranian army conducted drills in the same area in February to “strengthen defense capabilities against any threat.”
