Photo’s source: www.radio.gov.pk

On November 7, 2021, Iran started a large-scale military drill after US navy confrontation in the Sea of Oman over a seized oil tanker.

Abdolrahim MOUSAVI the commander in chief of the Iranian army said to the state television the exercises are being held in an area encompassing one million square kilometers east of the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, and northern parts of the Indian Ocean. The drill will be held in general area of south-eastern provinces of Sistan, Balochistan and Hormozgan, in addition to the coasts of Makran.

“Since we are aware that the enemy is trying to gather its required information after our forces mobilized in the area, from today we are reinforcing our efforts to monitor enemy movements that had begun days ago” he said from the southeastern port of Konarak.

State TV also aired footage of speedboats maneuvering at sea, soldiers boarding combat helicopters, and commandos parachuting out of aircraft to land on beach areas.

Iran’s army and the IRGC have held several large-scale drills in different parts of the country in recent months amid tensions with the US, threats by Israel, and disagreements with northwestern neighbor Azerbaijan.

Iranian military officials on Sunday continued to praise the country’s military capabilities in relation to a confrontation over a Vietnamese-flagged tanker publicized on Wednesday that they said the US tried to seize in order to “steal” its cargo of Iranian oil. It was unclear where the tanker was heading.

Yadollah JAVANI, the IRGC’s political deputy, told the state broadcaster that the US was trying to prevent Iranian oil sales and enforce unilateral sanctions it imposed following its 2018 withdrawal from Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal.

“But the Americans were caught unawares because … IRGC Navy forces used heliborne operations to deploy troops on the tanker that wanted to steal Iranian oil and redirected the ship to Iranian waters from a long distance,” JAVANI said.

Periodic confrontations have taken place between Iran’s military and US forces in the Gulf since 2018, when former US president Donald TRUMP exited the nuclear pact and re-imposed harsh sanctions against Tehran.

Iran has reacted by breaching the deal’s limits on its nuclear program.

Indirect talks between Iran and US President Joe BIDEN’s administration to revive the pact, which were put on hold since the election of Iran’s hardline President RAISI in June, are set to resume in Vienna on Nov 29.

This article was edited using the data from the Aljazeera.com, Economy.pk, Presstv.ir and Tribune.com.pk