Iran to start 10-day Strait of Hormuz war game Dec 24: admiral

Iran's Navy and elite Revolutionary Guards Corps will jointly hold a 10-day war game in the Strait of Hormuz starting December 24, the country's top naval commander said Thursday.

Commander Admiral Habibollah Sayari said it would be up to the country's leadership to decide whether a test of closing the strategic maritime oil corridor would be included in the exercise.

"The area of the maneuver covers the Strait of Hormuz, eastern Strait of Hormuz, the Oman Sea, [and] free waters of northern Indian Ocean," the student ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.

"This is the first time that a sea maneuver will be carried out in such broadness, and we will expand the area each year," he said.

Sayari cited an order received from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khaminei to assert Iran's presence in international waters while avoiding "invasion and aggression" as the rationale for the exercise.

When asked whether a trial closure of the Strait of Hormuz would be attempted, Sayari said: "The primary basis of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz is the Oman Sea. The army of the Islamic Republic [of Iran] and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps have the capability to carry out such a plan. But whether this decision becomes operational or not depends on the decision of the higher authorities."

"When we can enter free waters, the issue of [controlling] the Strait of Hormuz is an easy job for us," he added.

"All the units located in the southwestern shores will participate part of their capabilities in the maneuver so that we can take advantage of all capabilities," Sayari said when asked if the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards would join the navy's tactical exercise.

Iran would test different weapons and vessels including submarines, destroyers, torpedoes, different types of missiles, drones, support warships, information warships and helicopters, he said.

The naval operation to establish an Iranian presence in a two-million cubic meter volume of sea off the coast of southern Iran, has been named "Velayat 90". It is scheduled to run from December 24, 2011, to January 3, 2012, Sayari said.

The current Iranian year is 1390 in the country's calendar. "Velayat" refers to the supreme leader as a parent of the nation.

Sayari said the objectives of the war game included "demonstration of the armed forces' determination and power, their capability in controlling the area and security of shipping in free waters as well as showing the defense and preemptive capabilities of the Islamic Republic army of Iran in free (international) waters."

The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow seaway flanked by Iranian and Omani territory that connects the southeast end of the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman in the Indian Ocean. Roughly a third of the world's sea-bourne crude passes through the strait.

Iran has announced its war game amid escalating tensions with western and Gulf Arab governments.

--Aresu Eqbali, newsdesk@platts.com

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