Iran, Pakistan to hold joint naval drills in east of Hormuz Strait

TEHRAN: Iran and Pakistan will hold joint naval exercises near southern Iranian waters, for which a Pakistani flotilla has already reached here, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency.

The Pakistani flotilla comprising Navy ships Tippu Sultan and PNS Jurrat and a chopper on Wednesday left the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas for the east of the Hormuz Strait where the drills will be held, Tasnim quoted Commander of Iran’s First Naval Zone Admiral Hossein Azad as saying.

He added that Iranian Navy’s Jamaran Destroyer besides a missile-launching frigate and a helicopter will join the Pakistani fleet. 

The commander noted that some 800 personnel of the Iranian and Pakistani navies will participate in the drills.

The Pakistani flotilla berthed at Bandar Abbas on Sunday and was officially received by the Iranian Navy’s officers, Tasnim reported.

Speaking at the welcoming ceremony, Admiral Azad said the visit was in line with efforts to boost security cooperation between Tehran and Islamabad.

The commander of the Pakistani naval fleet, for his part, said the visit carries the message of peace and close brotherly relations between Iran and Pakistan, and seeks to strengthen naval relations between the two nations.

The Iranian and Pakistani naval forces have recently boosted their cooperation and staged joint drills on various occasions.

In September 2016, an Iranian fleet of warships berthed at Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi to attend a joint naval relief and rescue drill with Pakistani naval forces.

Four vessels and a helicopter attended the drill on behalf of Iran, including Lavan logistic warship, Falakhan and Khanjar missile-launching vessels, and Konarak warship.

Also in April 2016, two warships of the Pakistani Navy docked at Bandar Abbas for four days.