China, Russia and Iran will hold joint naval drills on Friday, a public relations official from Iran’s armed forces told semi-official ISNA news agency on Thursday.
The “2022 Marine Security Belt” exercise will take place in the North of the Indian Ocean and is the third joint naval drill between the three countries, Mostafa Tajoldin added.
The first such trilateral exercise took place in December 2019 as Tehran sought to boost military cooperation with Beijing and Moscow amid unprecedented economic sanctions from Washington.
Since coming to office last June, Iran’s hardline President Ebrahim Raisi has pursued a “look east” policy to deepen ties with China and Russia.
Tehran joined the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in September, a central Asian security body led by Beijing and Moscow.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian visited China last week and Iran’s president was meeting his Russian counterpart in Moscow on Thursday.
China, Russia and Iran started joint naval drills in 2019, and will continue them in the future, Tajoldin said.