“The commander of the Russian fleet has talked about a joint naval drill. The exercise may be held after the Islamic Republic makes a decision (in this regard) and after arrangements are made,” Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said in a news conference in Tehran on Monday in reference to news reports saying that Iran and Russia had planned to stage joint naval maneuvers.
Deputy Commander of Russia’s Caspian Flotilla Nikolai Yakubovsky said on Friday that the two countries were examining a plan to hold a joint naval exercise in the Caspian Sea in the second half of the current year, according to RIA Novosti.
Commenting on the recent dispatch of an Iranian fleet of warships to Russia, Sayyari said that the mission was an example of naval relations between Tehran and Moscow, adding that the two countries would cooperate to counter possible threats to the security of the Caspian Sea.
An Iranian fleet of warships, comprised of two missile-launching vessels, docked at the Russian port city of Astrakhan on Friday for a four-day stay.
The deputy commander of the Iranian Navy said on June 25 that one of the purposes of the mission was to cement relations between Iran and Russia, adding, “Given that the Caspian Sea is known as a sea of peace and tranquility, conveying the message of peace and friendship to countries bordering this sea, particularly the country of Russia, and displaying the naval might of the Navy and increasing the knowledge and experience of its young members are other purposes of the dispatch of the fleet of warships to Russia.”
“During the stay of the fleet of warships of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Navy in Astrakhan, Russia, besides visits to military and port centers, meetings will be held with a number of officials and senior military commanders,” he said.
A detachment of ships of the Russian Pacific Fleet on the way from Vladivostok to the Mediterranean Sea entered the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on an unofficial visit on April 20.
The detachment consisted of The Admiral Panteleyev major anti-submarine ship, The Admiral Nevelskoy and The Peresvet large landing ships, The Foty Krylov ocean-going rescue ship, and The Pechenga sea tanker.
AM/PA
MNA
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MNA
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