Iran confirms it held war games exercises in the Gulf this weekend to train military in 'confronting possible threats'
- Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it held war games in the Gulf this weekend
- US officials reported last week of increased activity in Gulf's Strait of Hormuz
- Iran said the military drills had been aimed at 'confronting possible threats'
- Iran was left furious after Donald Trump pulled out of international nuclear deal
Iran has confirmed that it had held war games in the Gulf over the weekend, saying they were aimed at 'confronting possible threats' by enemies.
The drills, said to involve more than 100 warships, were carried out by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, a paramilitary branch of its army which is dedicated to protecting the country's Islamic system.
U.S. officials reported last week that they believed Iran had started carrying out naval exercises in the Gulf, apparently moving up the timing of annual drills amid heightened tensions with Washington.
It happened: Iran's Revolutionary Guards confirmed that it held war games in the Gulf this weekend. Pictured: Iranian navy vessels take part in a military exercise in the Strait of Hormuz in January 2012
Confirmed: US officials reported last week that ther had been an increase in naval activity in the Strait of Hormuz - a strategic waterway for oil shipments
Iran has been furious over U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of an international nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Tehran.
Senior Iranian officials have warned the country would not easily yield to a renewed U.S. campaign to strangle Iran's vital oil exports.
'This exercise was conducted with the aim of controlling and safeguarding the safety of the international waterway and within the framework of the programme of the Guards' annual military exercises,' Guards spokesman Ramezan Sharif said, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA.
Guards commander Mohammad Ali Jafari 'expressed satisfaction over the successful conduct of the Guards naval exercise, emphasising the need to maintain and enhance defence readiness and the security of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz and to confront threats and potential adventurous acts of enemies'.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the drills appeared designed to send a message to Washington, which is intensifying its economic and diplomatic pressure on Tehran but so far stopping short of using the U.S. military to more aggressively counter Iran and its proxies.
Iranian naval officers salute during the military exercises in the Persian Gulf in January 2012
The U.S. military's Central Command said last weak that it had seen increased Iranian naval activity in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway for oil shipments the Revolutionary Guards have threatened to block.
But Iran did not appear interested in drawing attention to the drills. Iranian authorities had not commented on them earlier and several officials contacted by Reuters this week had declined to comment.
Last month, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei backed President Hassan Rouhani's suggestion that Iran may block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are stopped.
Rouhani's apparent threat earlier in July to disrupt oil shipments from neighbouring countries came in reaction to the looming U.S. sanctions and efforts by Washington to force all countries to stop buying Iranian oil.
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