Xinhua – December 2, 2008
Iran's Navy Force commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that Iran's navy launched a maneuver in Oman Sea on Tuesday, Iran's state TV website reported.
The drill "Unity 87" started out in the Chahbahar, a city in Iran's southeastern Sistan-Balouchestan Province, and will last for six days.
"Over 60 destroyers, light and heavy submarines, helicopters, aircraft, reconnaissance drones and small boats were tested in the maneuver," Sayyari was quoted as saying.
The maneuver is aimed at the promotion of the armed forces' readiness to confront the possible threats and testing the country's modern defensive weapons, he said.
It would "cover more than 50,000 square kilometers in the southern part of Chahbahar and would be carried out in four stages," he added.
Earlier in November, Sayyari said that "All the movements of the enemy in Oman Sea, Persian Gulf and Hormuz Strait are under control and the enemy will never dare to enter Iran's waters."
The United States and Israel have consistently refused to rule out the possibility of military strikes against Iran over its refusal to halt its nuclear program.
The United States and its allies have accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program.
Iran has denied the U.S. charges and insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/02/content_10446486.htm
Last updated 04/12/2008
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