Russia, Iran, China to hold naval drills in Persian Gulf
Russia, Iran and China will hold joint naval exercises CHIRU in the Persian Gulf area in the period between late 2021 and early 2022, Russian ambassador to Tehran Levan Dzhagaryan said in an interview with Sputnik.
"In the end of this year or the beginning of the next year, the annual joint naval exercises CHIRU will be held in the Persian Gulf region. Russian, Iranian and Chinese warships are taking part in it. The main aim is to practice actions on ensuring international shipping safety, and combating sea pirates," Dzhagaryan said.
Preparations for the Depth competition, held at the International Army Games 2021 in Iran's Chabahar, are being completed, the ambassador noted.
"Along with Russia and Iran, China, India, Syria and Venezuela will take part in it. There are plans to hold a contest between dive teams of these countries' armed forces. Representatives of the Russian Navy command will arrive at the opening and closing ceremonies of this contest," Dzhagaryan added.
The Russian diplomat believed Iran and Arab states don’t want further scalation in the Persian Gulf.
Russia is not overreacting to the situation in the Gulf of Oman following a series of incidents with merchant ships, since it is confident that neither Iran nor its Arab neighbors are interested in further escalation, he stressed.
The ambassador expressed the belief that relations between Iran and Arab counties in the Persian Gulf are becoming warmer.
"The United Arab Emirates sent a delegation to Tehran to participate in the ceremony of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's inauguration. Iran and Saudi Arabia launched direct contacts. Russia welcomes dialogue in this strategically important region. This is one of the goals of our concept for collective security in the Persian Gulf, which we are promoting," Dzhagaryan noted.