Iran Navy drill: Maneuver includes missile launches for first time

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Europe

01:30

There are over 100 vessels from different units, including destroyers, missile-launchers, and submarines. For the first time, the new Sahand destroyer and Fateh submarine are taking part. All these are opening the curtain for Iran's annual military drill.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said the parade and power demonstration indicates the preparedness of the Navy's different equipment and major defensive items to confront "any threat on the sea."

Covering two million square kilometers, the exercises are taking place in the Strait of Hormuz in the south. The area is crucial to global energy supplies with around a third of all oil traded at sea passing through.

The Iranian military official also noted the war game also includes missile launches for the first time. "The navy drill called Velayat 97 will be held in the areas including the strait of Hormuz, Makran coasts, the sea of Oman and northern part of the Indian Ocean up to the 10th parallel north," said the Iranian Navy commander.

The maneuvers will run through Monday. The show of military force comes at a time of heightened tensions with the U.S. as Washington has withdrawn from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal while reimposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic. Iranian officials have considered blocking the Strait of Hormuz to retaliate.