Iranian Navy Stages Drill in Caspian Sea

The Iranian Navy launched a naval exercise in the Caspian Sea on June 30.

The exercise, codenamed “Sustainable Security 1400" - a reference to the current Iranian year - covers an area of around 77,000 square kilometers. The drill’s message is “peace and friendship.”

“Offensive and defensive scenarios will be implemented during the drill to protect our country’s territorial waters and ensure the safety of transportation routes,” Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.

Iran’s navy will use naval drones, missile launchers, fighter jets and helicopters, as well as electronic warfare systems as part of the drill. Warships equipped with anti-ship missiles will also participate in the military exercise. The Iranian Air Force and Air Defense will support the naval units by covering the airspace of the drill area. 

On June 22-23, another Caspian littoral state, Azerbaijan, staged a two-day exercise in the Caspian Sea. The Russian and Kazakh naval forces also staged a joint drill in the Caspian Sea on May 18-24. 

The aim of the exercise was “the protection and defense of objects of maritime economic activity, ensuring the safety of navigation and international maritime activities, as well as carrying out joint activities in the fight against terrorism in the Caspian Sea.” The crews of the Russian Caspian Flotilla, the largest and most powerful naval unit in the Caspian Sea, took part in the exercise. Meanwhile, the Kazakh navy ships involved in the drills included five warships and support vessels.

Previously, the Iranian naval forces have held several military drills in southern waters, including the Persian Gulf. The Russian and Iranian naval forces conducted a two-day joint exercise in the Gulf of Oman and the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean on February 15-16, 2021. 

On January 13-14, Iran’s naval forces conducted a two-day military exercise in the Gulf of Oman amid renewed tensions with Washington. These exercises came after the United States sent a guided-missile submarine and two cruisers into the Persian Gulf in December 2020. The Pentagon also ordered a series of long-range, short-notice flights of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to the Middle East and deployed the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier in the region.

As part of a meeting with his French counterpart on June 30, Commander of the Iranian Navy Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, called for an end of the presence of the American and European naval forces near Iran’s southern coasts. 

Khanzadi said that “we do not understand the presence of foreign forces in the Persian Gulf.” According to him, Iran’s Navy is closely monitoring the moves of the US-led coalition forces, including the European and French vessels in the Persian Gulf region, even from a long distance.