TEHRAN - Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said on Tuesday that Iran has proposed formation of a military coalition by the Indian Ocean littoral states.

“Security in the Indian Ocean is a priority based on which we proposed formation of a joint military coalition and group. Most of the officials with whom I met on the sidelines of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium agreed with this proposition and the issue is supposed to be discussed in the commanders’ summit and to be implemented if all member states agree,” ISNA quoted him as saying.

He said that the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) has many capacities for expansion of cooperation.

The general also said Iran welcomes other countries joining the IONS but it does not favor a U.S. inclusion. 

“Many other countries have the same opinion,” Khanzadi added.

Elsewhere, he said that the Iranian and Omani navies are scheduled to hold joint exercises on May 7, 8.

The sixth Indian Ocean Naval Symposium opened in Tehran on Monday.

Senior military delegations from 35 countries were participating in the conference which ended on Tuesday. It was the greatest military conference hosted by the Iranian Navy.

During the conference, Iran officially assumed presidency of the IONS for two years.

General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, chief of Iran’s armed forces, was the first lecturer of the conference.

NA/PA