The exercises are aimed at strengthening cooperation between the three countries, and get under way as Iran accuses the US of ‘bullying’.
Published On 12 Mar 2025
Iran, Russia and China have begun joint naval drills in the Gulf of Oman, marking the fifth year the three countries have conducted military drills together.
China’s CGTN news said that the Marine Security Belt 2025 exercises began near the Iranian port of Chabahar on Tuesday and were aimed at strengthening “cooperation among the naval forces of the participating countries”.
The naval drills will involve “striking maritime targets, damage control, and joint search and rescue operations”, according to CGTN.
“Over the course of two days, the ships’ crews conducted daytime and nighttime fire from large-calibre machine guns and small arms at targets simulating unmanned boats and unmanned aerial vehicles of a mock enemy,” Russia’s Interfax news agency reported, citing a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Iran’s Press TV said naval groups from Azerbaijan, South Africa, Oman, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Qatar, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka were also observing the drills.
Although China and Russia do not typically patrol waters in the Middle East, the region’s waterways have become increasingly militarised in recent years.
The Chinese, Iranian, and Russian navies kicked off a joint exercise near the Iranian port of Chabahar.
Codenamed “Security Belt-2025”, the exercise will include drills on striking maritime targets, damage control, and joint search and rescue operations. It aims to strengthen… pic.twitter.com/YqoHwhOeor
— CGTN Europe (@CGTNEurope) March 11, 2025
In late 2023, Yemen’s Houthis began attacking ships linked to Israel in the Red Sea, in what they say is an act of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.
The Houthis paused their attacks after a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel began in January but have threatened to resume military operations if Israel does not lift its renewed siege of Gaza, in which it has been blocking food, medicine and other essential supplies from entering t