Iran, Russia, and China are joining together in a war games simulation as a “message to the world,” Iranian navy commander Rear Adm. Hossein Khanzadi said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Iranian Navy commander indicated the three nations had mutual interests and goals, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.
“[W]hen we talk about joint wargames, we are talking about two or more countries with a high level of relations in various political, economic and social fields, which culminate in cooperation in the military sector, with wargames usually being the highest level of such cooperation,” Khanzadi said.
“[T]he joint war game between Iran, Russia and China, which will hopefully be conducted next month, carries the same message to the world, that these three countries have reached a meaningful strategic point in their relations,” he added.
The United States imposed crippling sanctions on the nation after it backed out of the Iranian nuclear deal, which cut a significant source of government income, Fox News reported.
“The purpose of the war game is to ensure collective security and help strengthen security in the northern region of the Indian Ocean, which is witnessing incidents such as piracy,” Khanzadi reportedly also said on Saturday.
Additionally, he claimed that his fleet could reach the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of Finland, on top of saying the games could extend Iran’s commercial reach.
“The war game seeks to deliver this message to the world that any kind of security at sea must include the interests of all concerned countries,” he said. “We do not condone the kind of security that only caters to the benefits of one specific country at a specific time and which disregards the security of others.”
“Seas, which are used as a platform for conducting global commerce, cannot be exclusively beneficial to certain powers,” Khanzadi added.
Khanzadi said the crippling sanctions imposed on the nation by the United States were “bullying tactics” used to “sanction another country’s oil by restricting its passage through international waters.”
The hostile nation has been accused several times of conducting aggressive acts, including bombing a Saudi Arabian oil field and being accused by Israeli officials of developing a nuclear weapon.
Israeli officials accused Iran on Sept. 9 of released photographs of an apparent nuclear weapons facility, claiming Iran was developing a nuclear weapon.
“Israel has exposed another Iranian violation of their international commitments: the Abadeh Nuclear Weapons Development Site,” Israeli embassy spokesman Elad Strohmayer wrote on Twitter. “We have proof #Iran conducted experiments to develop nuclear weapons there, and that they destroyed the site when they realized we discovered it.”
Israel has exposed another Iranian violation of their international commitments: the Abadeh Nuclear Weapons Development Site. We have proof that #Iran conducted experiments to develop nuclear weapons there, and that they destroyed the site when they realized we discovered it. pic.twitter.com/9wyhu45qJl
— Elad Strohmayer (@EladStr) September 9, 2019
Later, Saudi and U.S. investigators determined “with very high probability” Iran conducted a coordinated strike using cruise missiles and drones on key Saudi Arabian facilities, destroying half of the country’s oil capacity on Sept 14.
Additionally, Iran is beginning to develop state-of-the-art weaponry to prepare to fight its enemies, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a speech on Oct. 13.
“With violent, aggressive, and hostile behavior, the Americans increased the dignity of the IRGC. The enemies of god show hostility to God’s servants, and this hostility makes God’s servants more reputable and estimable,” he said. “You must have all necessary defense, operational and intelligence equipment. However, these instruments must be manufactured and developed at home and meet all the needs of the country on the ground, in the sky and space as well as at sea and borders. Even the cyberspace is among the necessary instruments.”
