Iran starts naval drills on disputed islands claimed by UAE

Middle East, News August 3, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) started its naval and military drills on Abu Musa Island and Tunb Islands on August 2, 2023, raising the tension in the region. The islands are part of a disputed territory between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The drills are mainly focused off the coast of Abu Musa as well as the Greater Tunb and Lesser Tunb islands in the Gulf region. Iran holds control of a large part of the disputed islands and it has recently increased its military activities in the region. Iranian officials did not provide a specific reason for the recent surprise military exercises.

“We always try for security and tranquility; it is our way,” the Chief of Iran’s IRGC General Hossein Salami said during his televised address during the drills. “Our nation is vigilant, and it gives harsh responses to all threats, complicated seditions, and secret scenarios and hostilities,” he added.

IRGC deployed an array of aircraft, vessels, missiles, and vehicles to showcase its readiness to mobilize on the islands. During the exercise, IRGC Navy for the first time unveiled a new vessel armed with missiles with a range of 600 kilometers, while Fath ballistic missiles with a range of 120 kilometers and Ghadir cruise missiles with a range of more than 300 kilometers are also installed on the islands.

Sitting at an important strategic location in the Strait of Hormoz, the disputed islands play a significant role in providing control over the regional trade routes. After the British forces withdrew from the UAE in 1971, Iran took control of some of the island using its naval fleet. The UAE has since maintained that the islands belong to them, while other Arab countries have backed UAE’s claims. Iran, however, rejects UAE’s and other Arab countries’ claims.

^{This photo released on August 2, 2023, by Sepahnews of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, shows the Guard’s equipment in a drill on Abu Musa Island, in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched a surprise military drill on disputed islands in the Persian Gulf. (Image Credit: Sepahnews/via AP)}

A joint statement released by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in December last year, challenged Iran’s rights to the disputed islands. The joint statement was also supported by Russia. Iran summoned a Russian envoy to Tehran to protest Moscow’s support of the joint statement.

The timing of the military exercises coincides with the rising political tensions in the region due to the Durra gas field, an offshore natural gas field located in the neutral zone between Kuwait, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. The issue has escalated recently after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement to develop Durra. Iran called the deal “illegal” and rejected the cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that excludes Tehran.

While speaking on the issue earlier this week, Iranian Oil Minister Jawad Owji said that Iran will not cede its rights to the Durra gas field, also known as the Arash in Iran. “We will not give up one iota of Iran’s right to make use of the Arash field,” said Owji, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.

*^{Iranian Revolutionary Guard launched military drills on the disputed Abu Musa Island in the Persian Gulf. (Image Credit: Sepahnews via AP)}*

The U.S., which also has a naval presence in the region, responded to Iran’s recent military drills by saying that it is an attempt to “threaten the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waters” through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil passes.