Iran and its allies can maintain regional security without any need to foreign forces, says a top Iranian military commander following naval maneuvers jointly carried out by the Islamic Republic, Russia and China in the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean. The drills kicked off on Friday and covered 17,000 square kilometers consisting of various tactical exercises, such as target practice and rescuing ships from assaults and fires.
Brigadier General Ebrahim Dehqani, who is in charge of the Naval Operations Department at the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the drills on Sunday. The commander said “Our friends will be assured through these drills that the maritime security can be established by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its allies and there is no need to the presence of foreign forces, especially Americans, in the region.”
In this regard, we have prepared for you an article written by ‘Shishir Upadhyaya’, former Indian naval intelligence officer, under the heading: “Iran-China-Russia combined naval exercise: A security trilateral to counter US presence.” The article was taken from the RT website.
A first-of-its-kind combined naval exercise by Iran, China and Russia has wrapped up in the Sea of Oman. The US has been watching closely, as it could be the beginning of a security coalition to counter American influence.
The Iranian Navy had announced that the December 27-30 exercise, codenamed ‘Marine Security Belt’, was aimed at enhancing maritime security in the region, which has witnessed a series of attacks on ships transiting the vital shipping lane. The US, along with its allies, maintains a naval presence in the region, and a European Union mission led by France is also known to be operating there.
The naval exercise follows a recent announcement by US President Donald Trump that another 14,000 soldiers will be added to the region, doubling the current strength of US occupation troops deployed in West Asia.
Washington has branded the exercise as a provocation, with Acting US Navy Secretary Thomas Modly claiming: “I think they’re going to continue to perform provocative actions over there... and I think they’ll look at every opportunity they can to do that.”
The exercise was monitored closely by the US, and Pentagon’s Spokesman Sean Robertson vowed to “continue to work with our partners and allies to ensure freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in international waterways” – which in practice has come to mean maintaining a US naval presence there.
Any combined naval exercise is a significant advance in strategic cooperation between participating states, but beyond maritime security, the three partners in this newly emerging coalition have a clear common interest in countering American influence in the region.
The commander of Iran’s Navy, Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, hinted that the exercise would “send a message to the world,” and that it signals “that these three countries have reached a meaningful strategic point in their relations.”
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says Naval maneuvers jointly carried out by Iran, Russia and China in the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean have caused fear and horror among those countries attempting to undermine security in the region.
Speaking to reporters on Monday Dec. 30, the IRGC’s Spokesman Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif said countries that care about regional security were pleased by the joint maneuvers.
Sharif added "The drills by the three big countries of Iran, Russia and China conveyed the important message of security in the region to regional countries."
The three-day drills kicked off on Friday and covered 17,000 square kilometers consisting of various tactical exercises, such as target practice and rescuing ships from assaults and fires.
Brigadier General Ebrahim Dehqani, who is in charge of the Naval Operations Department at the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, said on Sunday Dec. 29, that Iran and its allies can maintain regional security without any need for foreign forces.
The commander said “Our friends will be assured [through these drills] that the maritime security can be established by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its allies and there is no need for the presence of foreign forces, especially Americans, in the region,”, adding, “The presence of Americans only creates insecurity in the region.”
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said on the same day that the joint naval drills showed that Tehran is ready for cooperation to ensure safe maritime passage in the Strait of Hormuz.
Zarif said "This joint exercise shows that Iran is willing to cooperate with other countries to ensure the security and the free passage of maritime traffic in the important international waterway of Hormuz."
Tensions between Iran and the US, backed by Saudi Arabia, have been threatening to boil over since Trump’s 2018 withdrawal from the Iran’s nuclear deal with the 5+1 group known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). A barrage of sanctions and accusations followed Tehran’s way.
In response to these attempts to isolate it, and striving to circumvent US sanctions, Iran has sought to build strategic ties with other global powers: China, India and Russia.
Tehran has reached out to Moscow and Beijing, which have sought to challenge Washington’s global influence. For both powers, developing close defense ties with Iran provides privileged access to the region and an opportunity to develop an alternate regional power center.
Recently, the Russian Foreign Ministry proposed a multilateral approach to security in the Persian Gulf, which has been welcomed by China. Decades after the end of the Cold War, when the Soviet Union operated in the Indian Ocean, Russia appears keen to establish a foothold in the region.
Pertinently, in November 2019, Russia and China had participated in the first ever trilateral naval exercise code-named Mosi with South Africa in the waters off the Cape of Good Hope – a clear sign of a gradual expansion of Russian naval presence in the region in partnership with China and other regional players.
China’s warm relations with Iran were formally established in 1971 only after the US rapprochement with China. In later years, during the Iraqi-imposed war on Iran, China was a key supporter of Iran. China’s relations with Iran have progressively expanded after the war and they are continuing their mutual relations politically and economically.
Iran is a key supplier of crude oil to China which, like India, had also received a waiver from US sanctions. China’s naval presence in the Indian Ocean region since 2009 is relatively recent but has expanded significantly in the preceding decade.
Currently, China is seeking closer ties with Iran since it could potentially be a key player in the Belt and Road Initiative and a trilateral arrangement with Russia could pave the way for a larger strategic role for China in the region, which could impinge on the extant US influence.
On balance, the trilateral exercise is a significant regional development. Any further moves in the same direction will be watched closely by the US and its allies – for it could mark the return of a big power rivalry playing out in the Indian Ocean region.
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