IRGC Launches Drills On Disputed Islands Claimed By UAE (Video)
On August 2, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a large naval military exercise in the Persian Gulf.
The exercise is taking place off the coast of Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb which are controlled by Iran but disputed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The IRGC said in a statement that the naval exercise, named after late Iranian General Eshaq Dara, is meant to “display the IRGC naval might as well as combat and defense preparedness in protecting the Persian Gulf security and the Iranian islands.”
An array of aircraft, vessels, missiles and vehicles were deployed on the islands by the IRGC during the exercise to showcase its readiness to mobilize there on short notice.
Footage from the exercises showed large numbers of security personnel, precision-guided missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and air defense systems. Iranian state media also said that the IRGC also used aerial and naval drones and simulated rapid response scenarios to defend the islands.
Ahead of the exercise, the IRGC Navy for the first time unveiled a new vessel armed with anti-ship missiles with a range of 600 kilometers.
The conflict over Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb goes back to 1971, when the then-shah of Iran dispatched the royal navy to the three islands in the mouth of the strategic Strait of Hormuz after the British withdrew their forces from the UAE.
Emirati leaders have since maintained that the islands belong to them, with support from other Arab states. However, Iran has dismissed these claims and rejected the possibility of any negotiations over their ownership.
In December, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a joint statement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that supported the UAE’s right to follow up on the ownership of the islands internationally. In response, the Iranian foreign ministry summoned the Chinese ambassador to Tehran to protest against the move.
Last month, Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the Russian envoy in Tehran to protest against a similar joint statement by Russia and the GCC.
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