Iran launches naval maneuvers in Persian Gulf

The show of strength underscores Tehran’s control over three islands also claimed by the UAE, the paramilitary Revolution Guard said

Tehran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched a naval exercise in the Persian Gulf that is partially meant to emphasize Iranian control over three islands also claimed by the United Arab Emirates, the corps told journalists.

The exercise was commenced on Wednesday by IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami and IRGC Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri, Iranian media have reported. Named after a late general, the maneuvers involve various corps units and are supported by its Air Force.

The aim of the exercise is to “display the IRGC Navy might as well as combat and defense preparedness in protecting the Persian Gulf security and the Iranian islands,” the paramilitary force said in a statement.

The latter part refers to three islands – Abu Musa, and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs – close to the strategic Hormuz Strait, which Iran has controlled for decades but which the UAE also claims. The IRGC exercise included training for a rapid deployment of airborne reinforcements to one of them.

Iran seized the islands in 1971 amid the British withdrawal of its colonial presence in the Arabian Peninsula, which paved the way for the creation of the UAE. Iran justified the takeover by citing the historic control of the territories by various Persian states. The UAE’s contesting claim is that Arab sheiks had ruled the islands in the 19th century.

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The dispute has remained a point of friction between the two Muslim nations, with the UEA making several unsuccessful attempts to litigate it in international institutions.

General Salami stressed as he launched the drill that Iran supported the territorial integrity of its Muslim neighbors, but added that the IRGC’s purpose was to defend Iranian “independence and the glorious achievements of the revolution,” as quoted by the Tasnim news agency.

Last month, the status of the islands caused a diplomatic spat between Tehran and Moscow after Russia expressed formal support for the UAE’s efforts to find a peaceful resolution. A statement that Moscow made jointly with the Gulf Cooperation Council mentioned bilateral talks and approaching the UN’s International Court of Justice – both of which the UAE previously tried – as possible avenues for a resolution.

Iranian officials similarly expressed discontent with China last December after President Xi Jinping signed a similarly worded joint statement with Arab leaders during a visit to Saudi Arabia.