Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Following reports on Washington's plan to conduct a joint sea drills in the Persian Gulf waters, Iran has warned regional countries, saying they must be aware of the hidden U.S. plots.

The United States will join 29 other naval powers for the massive sea drills on May 6-30 to practice mine-sweeping and ship-escort maneuvers in the Persian Gulf.

The largest exercise of its kind in the region, International Mine Countermeasures Exercise (IMCMEX) 13, will exercise a wide spectrum of defensive operations designed to protect international commerce and trade; mine countermeasures, maritime security operations (MSO) and maritime infrastructure protection (MIP).

Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, has advised regional countries to beware of the "covert goals" of the U.S. and Israel.

"The U.S. aims to create more chaos in the region to gain more benefits," Jazayeri was quoted by Press TV as saying.

The general said Iran with its intelligence superiority over hostile countries in the region monitors U.S. actions and is fully aware of them.

"We have repeatedly warned the U.S. and Israeli regime that the slightest military error by them in the region toward Iran will be answered most decisively," he said.

Hosted by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT)/U.S. 5th Fleet, IMCMEX 13 will be conducted in three phases: a three-day symposium on maritime infrastructure protection, an afloat operations phase, and a re-integration phase where participants discuss best practices and lessons learned for future exercises.

The participants will exercise the afloat staging base concept aboard USS Ponce (AFSB(I) 15) and RFA Cardigan Bay (L3009), and will cover surface mine countermeasures, mine hunting and airborne mine countermeasures operations, international explosive ordnance disposal training, diving operations, small-boat exercises, unmanned aerial vehicle operations, unmanned underwater vehicle operations and port clearance operations.

Over the past few years, Iran has held several military drills to enhance the defensive capabilities of its armed forces and to test modern military tactics and equipment.

Iran has repeatedly assured other nations, especially its neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is based on deterrence.

Iran's latest military drills in the Persian Gulf waters took place in late January. Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy carried out three-day drills titled "Fath 91" in the Persian Gulf waters in southern Iran to exercise rapid deployment of its forces in case of crisis.

The drills covered a vast area including the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, north of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden, and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

Then, IRGC's Navy Commander Rear-Admiral Reza Torabi said the country is the main provider of security in the Persian Gulf, noting that IRGC's radius of influence spreads way beyond the Persian Gulf.