Iran to start eight-day war games in Sea of Oman
The Iranian Navy will start eight-day war games in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman today, which will cover a span of about 250,000 square kilometers of the country’s territorial waters.
“The massive maneuvers, entitled Velayat-89, will display (Iran’s) defensive and deterrent naval power,” and will convey the message of “peace and friendship” to regional countries, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said on Tuesday.
Submarine and air force units will also be used in the military maneuvers, he added.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps held five-day maneuvers in late April in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, during which the IRGC tested missiles and a new speedboat capable of destroying enemy ships.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Sayyari confirmed that an Iranian F-27 aircraft had photographed a U.S. ship in the Sea of Oman, saying it was the Navy’s “duty and right” to identify foreign vessels in the area.
On Tuesday, CNN quoted a senior U.S. military officer as saying that an F-27 aircraft of the Iranian Navy flew as low as 300 feet near the USS Eisenhower on April 21.
According to U.S. military officials, the Eisenhower was on duty in the Gulf of Oman in the northern Arabian Sea when the Iranian maritime patrol aircraft flew within 1,000 yards (915 meters) of the vessel.
The Iranian aircraft was an unarmed Fokker F-27 and remained in the vicinity of the Eisenhower for about 20 minutes before leaving the area, U.S. military officials said.
Sayyari said, “Despite the objection of this (U.S.) vessel, we reiterate firmly that doing this is our inalienable right.”
'Iran has the right to conduct routine surveillance flights,' he added.
Source: tehrantimes.com
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