Iran’s Revolutionary Guards will hold new naval exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz next month, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.
The announcement late on Thursday came just two days after Iran’s navy wrapped up another set of war games near the strait, the passageway for about a third of the world’s oil tanker traffic.
Tehran’s periodic naval maneuvers have come under close international scrutiny, as some Iranian officials have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz should the West strike the country’s nuclear facilities or embargo oil exports.
The report quoted Revolutionary Guard naval commander Admiral Ali Fadavi as saying that the latest exercise would be the seventh staging of an annual drill dubbed “The Great Prophet.”
However, Fadavi said that this year’s war games would be “different” from their predecessors. He did not elaborate.
He said the drill would be held in the Iranian month of Bahman.
The Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s most powerful military force, have the same air, naval and ground branches as the regular armed forces. They are also in charge of Iran’s missile program.
Iran’s regular navy on Tuesday ended a 10-day drill in the waters off the strait, dubbed “Velayat 90.”
Military officers said that Iran held the drill to show off its prowess and defense capabilities. The country regularly holds war games and has also been active in fighting piracy in the Gulf of Aden.
However, the drill was also the latest in a series of shows of strength by Iran as international criticism mounts over Tehran’s controversial nuclear program. The West fears the program is aimed at developing atomic weapons, while Iran denies those charges, insisting that it is for peaceful purposes only.
The US recently tightened sanctions on Iran, and has not ruled out a military strike against its nuclear facilities.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was