Iran's IRGC launches combined drill in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has launched the main stage of a "combined, intense and targeted" military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz.

The drill, dubbed the "Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz," involves the IRGC's naval forces and is being conducted under the supervision, control and field monitoring of IRGC Chief Commander Mohammad Pakpour, read a statement published Monday on the IRGC's official news outlet Sepah News.

Among the main objectives of the drill are assessing the readiness of the IRGC Navy's operational units, reviewing and practicing the IRGC's security plans and scenarios of military counteractions in the face of potential security and military threats in the Strait of Hormuz, and intelligently exploiting Iran's geopolitical advantages in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, the statement said.

"The intelligence and operational exercises of the units involved in the drill center on the rapid, decisive and comprehensive response of the IRGC's operational forces to anti-security plots in the maritime arena," it added.

The development comes amid simmering tensions between Iran and the United States, as well as a U.S. military buildup in the West Asia region, despite delegations from Tehran and Washington being scheduled to hold a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Geneva on Tuesday.