Iran launches 'show of strength' military exercise in Gulf

Iran’s air force carried out a strategic drill near the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf to indicate the “pounding reply” that would await the country’s enemies if it was provoked.

The joint aerial military drill was carried out by the Iranian army and Revolutionary Guard Corps on Friday near the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea.

The tactical move comes amid suggestions from Tehran in recent weeks that it could take military action in the Gulf to block other countries’ oil exports in retaliation to US sanctions intended to halt its sales of crude oil.

The manoeuvre was seen as a warning to Iran’s enemies that they face a quick, “pounding reply” in case of any ill-will towards Iran.

But a spokesperson said the ceremony was not only a show of strength but also of peace.

“In addition to a show of strength, this ceremony is a message of peace and friendship for friendly and neighbouring countries,” Yousef Safipour, the deputy commander of the army for public relations said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (Irna).

“And if the enemies and arrogant powers have an eye on the borders and land of Islamic Iran they will receive a pounding reply in a fraction of a second.”

The drill involved the US-made F-4 fighter jet and Russian Sukhoi-22 planes.

Also planned is a large naval military drill by the Islamic Republic of Iran on Saturday which will include 600 naval vessels, Irna reported.

US oil sanctions on Iran are to resume in early November but American allies in Asia have already began cutting back on their purchases of Iranian crude oil.

In July, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said that if renewed sanctions threatened Iran’s oil exports, the rest of the Middle East’s exports would be threatened too.

Washington maintains a fleet in the Gulf that protects oil shipping routes.