Iran Guards warn US vessels during drill in Gulf

TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps on Thursday kicked off naval wargames in the Gulf, issuing warnings to US warships in the area, more than five months after the 12-day war with Israel that briefly drew in American forces.

State TV said the drill showcases the “sacrifice and spirit of resistance” of the IRGC’s naval forces “to confront any threat” against Iran following the June war.

The strikes, which killed more than a thousand people, including senior IRGC commanders, prompted Iran to retaliate with drone and missile strikes that killed dozens in Israel.

Naval units “issued warnings to American vessels present in the region, conveying their firm message,” the report said, though the content of the messages was not immediately clear and US forces in the Gulf did not comment.

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State media added that the Guards deployed air-defence systems under electronic-warfare conditions that “were able to detect aerial and maritime targets using artificial intelligence”.

The Gulf, and the strategic Strait of Hormuz at its bottleneck leading to the Sea of Oman, channels about 20 percent of the world’s oil exports each year.

On Wednesday, IRGC deputy commander-in-chief Ali Fadavi said “no country can diminish the role of the Strait of Hormuz,” vowing the Guards’ protection of the waterway.

“The security of the Persian Gulf is Iran’s red line,” he added, describing Tehran’s adversaries – the United States and Israel –  as the “main drivers of global insecurity,” according to IRNA state news agency.

The Guards have repeatedly seized foreign-flagged tankers cruising in the Gulf over what Iranian authorities call fuel smuggling.