The Iranian Navy is planning a three-day military maneuver with missile tests in the Persian Gulf. According to Naval Commander Hussein Khansadi, the maneuvers will start tomorrow from the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman. For the first time missiles will also be fired from submarines.
„The maneuver should prepare us for the emergency,“ said the admiral, according to the Tasnim news agency today. In the presence of President Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian navy commissioned the new submarine „Fateh“ („Conqueror“) last week. The 600-ton U-boat will be equipped with torpedoes and cruise missiles and be operational for up to 30 days in more than 200 meters of water.
Iranian military maneuvers internationally fiercely controversial
Maneuvers near the Strait of Hormuz are explosive, as nearly a third of the world’s oil exports are shipped through this sea area in the Persian Gulf. Rouhani has repeatedly threatened a blockade of the Straits should the US block oil exports from the Islamic Republic as part of Iran’s sanctions.
The Iranian maneuvers are internationally highly controversial. Iranian medium-range weapons are considered a serious direct threat to Israel. The cruise missiles of the „Fateh“, however, are designed to combat ships.
