Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have started military exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes. The exercises are taking place at a time of tension between Tehran and Washington.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) began a series of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, local state media reported. It is a strategic transportation route in the Persian Gulf, through which approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil production flows, writes TASR according to the AFP agency.
According to Iran’s state television, intensive exercises by IRGC naval forces are taking place in the strait under the supervision of their commander, Mohammad Pakpur. The aim is to prepare the Revolutionary Guards for “potential security and military threats” in the Strait of Hormuz and to respond quickly to them, the television reported. It is not known how long they will last.
The IRGC’s military exercises come as Tehran and Washington prepare for the next round of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. The meeting of representatives of both countries should take place on Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland. Both were mediated by Oman.
AFP recalls that the United States sent the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier accompanied by three missile destroyers to the Middle East in January. Last week, US President Donald Trump confirmed that Washington had sent a second aircraft carrier to the area – the USS Gerald R. Ford. According to him, she should soon sail to the Middle East from the Caribbean.
