EU's Mogherini Fears Possible Russia-Iran Drills May Complicate Gulf 'Chess Game'

A possible military exercise between Russia and Iran would add more elements to an increasingly complicated lineup of forces in the Middle East, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned on Friday

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th August, 2019) A possible military exercise between Russia and Iran would add more elements to an increasingly complicated lineup of forces in the middle East, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini warned on Friday.

In July, Iranian Navy commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said that Iran and Russia were planning to hold joint drills in the Indian Ocean region by the end of the year.

"This angle is obviously of concern because what the wider Middle East definitely doesn't need is to add the number of theaters where the proxy chess game is exercised � and definitely doesn't need the number of players to increase," Mogherini said.

She told reporters in Helsinki that the European Union was closely watching the situation in the Persian Gulf as it unfolded but said Russia's involvement was not the "first reason of concern.

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"I think the main point here is to try and support some elements of rationality inside the region that can work on the common interest that the countries across the Gulf share," Mogherini added.

She reiterated that the European Union remained committed to the Iran nuclear deal, from which the United States pulled out in 2018. This unilateral move was followed by batches of sanctions against the Islamic republic and escalating tensions in the region. In more recent months, Washington has been building a coalition to patrol the Gulf in the wake several attacks on tankers that it blamed on Tehran.