Iranian media: Islamic Republic to stage naval exercises in Indian Ocean

By JOSH AXELROD

Published: DECEMBER 9, 2018 18:20

Updated: DECEMBER 9, 2018 18:33

An Iranian soldier stands guard near Iranian Navy helicopter carrier Kharg at Port Sudan at the Red Sea State, October 31, 2012 (photo credit: REUTERS/ MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH) — An Iranian soldier stands guard near Iranian Navy helicopter carrier Kharg at Port Sudan at the Red Sea State, October 31, 2012

(photo credit: REUTERS/ MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH)

Iran will launch the maneuver this winter to display its military power and flaunt its new weapons.

A senior commander says the Iran navy will stage a large-scale drill in the Indian Ocean, according to Press TV.

"So long as the presence of the Iranian Army's fleets is necessary to secure Iran's interests, the dispatch of the fleets to the high seas will continue," Iranian Army's Deputy Commander for Operations Rear Admiral Mahmoud Moussavi told Islamic Republic News Agency in November.

Iran will launch the maneuver this winter to display its military power and flaunt its new weapons.

Earlier this week, Iran unveiled its new destroyer, a "radar evading stealth" warship. Two new Ghadir-class submarines will also be included in the maneuver.

The submarines can launch subsurface-to-surface missiles, torpedoes and mines.

At a press conference in early November, outgoing Naval commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that "sailing in open waters between Europe and the Americas should be the navy’s goal, which will be realized in the near future."

Iran has increased its presence in international waters in recent years. According to Sayyari, Iran has sent 47 flotillas of warships into international waters including last November when an Iranian naval flotilla entered the Atlantic Ocean after sailing around Africa.

“No foreign military official could even imagine that the Iranian naval forces might reach the Atlantic Ocean,” Sayyari stated during a ceremony in August, adding that “no one saw it likely that Iranian forces could sail around Africa or go to the Suez Canal, but they proved to be capable of doing it.”

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Anna Ahronheim contributed to this report.