Joint Naval Drills Of Iran, China, Russia Indicate Desire For Closer Cooperation - Rouhani

Joint Naval Drills of Iran, China, Russia Indicate Desire for Closer Cooperation - Rouhani

TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th January, 2020) The joint naval drills of Iran, China and Russia this past December signify the trio's pursuit of closer ties, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday.

"The trilateral relations among Iran, Russia and China, as well as the joint drills in the Gulf of Oman, mean that the three countries are decisively determined to have closer relations," Rouhani said at a meeting with Viacheslav Volodin, Russia's lower house speaker, who is in Tehran on an official visit.

The trilateral naval exercise, codenamed Marine Security Belt, was conducted in the northern Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Oman from December 27-30.

The war game's plot was focused on fighting terrorism and piracy.

All three parties have claimed that the drills were not aimed at any third party, notwithstanding that the exercise took place in the wake of heightened tensions in the middle East as the United States' bulked up military hardware in the region and called upon other countries to join a coalition for maritime security in the Persian Gulf.