Powerful training partners for Iran: The regime in Tehran has started a four-day naval exercise in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman together with Russia and China. According to Iranian state television, rehearsals include rescue missions for ships attacked by pirates or on which a fire has broken out. There should also be target practice.
It is the first joint maneuver between the three countries, said Iranian admiral Gholamreza Tahani on state television. The maneuver should show "that Iran cannot be isolated".
The waters south of the country have long been the focus of international tension. In the summer, several merchant ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, which is connected to the Gulf of Oman. Iranian Revolutionary Guards, among other things, fixed the British tanker "Stena Impero". The bottleneck is one of the most important shipping routes in the world, through which a fifth of the world's oil transports go.
Russia shuts down three ships from its Baltic fleet
The maneuver with Russia and China is all the more remarkable. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that no such action has yet taken place. Three ships from the Russian Baltic fleet are participating in the exercise - a frigate, a tanker and a rescue tug, the army newspaper "Roter Stern" reported, citing the Ministry of Defense.
China participates with a destroyer, among other things. The Ministry of Defense in Beijing said it was a "normal military exchange" between the three armed forces. "This is not necessarily related to the situation in the region."
The United States has initiated an international naval operation, which it is leading, to ensure security in the region - Germany has declined to participate. The US government, along with other western countries and Saudi Arabia, has blamed Iran for several attacks on merchant ships, including Saudi oil tankers.
The government in Tehran has always rejected involvement and claims responsibility for the safety of the Strait of Hormuz. However, the unilateral termination of the international nuclear agreement with Iran and the imposition of sanctions by US President Donald Trump in 2015 also led to a massive increase in tensions in the region.
China, on the other hand, has close ties to Tehran in terms of diplomacy, trade and oil supplies. Russia is working with the Iranians in the Syria conflict. However, China and Russia also maintain good contacts with Saudi Arabia, Iran's largest regional rival.
J apan sends destroyers and reconnaissance planes to the Gulf region
Regardless of the major maneuver, Japan has also decided to send a destroyer and two reconnaissance planes to the Gulf region. These are intended to secure important shipping routes and make their own contribution to "peace and stability" in the region, but do not participate in the US-led naval mission, the government said in Tokyo.
Nor should they be dispatched directly to the Strait of Hormuz, but patrol the Gulf of Oman, the Northern Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. According to a government spokesman, Japan obtains 90 percent of its oil imports from the Gulf region. A Japanese ship had also been among the tankers attacked in the summer.