TEHRAN - On the second and last day of their joint drills in the northern Indian Ocean, which its main purpose was commercial security in the sea, the Iranian and Russian naval forces exercised freedom of two hijacked ships and extinguishing fire.

Admiral Gholamreza Tahani, spokesperson of the joint naval exercises, said, “On the second day of combined drills in the northern Indian Ocean, and based on a scenario, the rescue operations of two cargo ships hijacked by pirates while sailing in international waters was carried out by surface and air units.” 

After sending an emergency message by the cargo ships to Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) of Chabahar, first the operation area was identified and searched by a SH3D helicopter of the Iranian Navy and then the Iranian-made destroyer Jamaran ordered the warships stationed in the region into two groups consisting of Iranian and Russian units to liberate the vessels, he explained. 
 
“The special operations forces of the Iranian Army and Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) navies along with Russian forces were deployed on the hijacked ships’ decks by air landing and also simultaneously penetrated from the surface, arrested the pirates and carried out the scenario of operations to free the ships,” Fars quoted Admiral Tahani as saying.

Pointing to the military scenarios, he highlighted, “Capturing the pirates, extinguishing the fire set by pirates as a smoke screen to delay the rescue operations and treatment of the wounded,” were part of the drill. 

Iran-Russia “Marine Security Belt” drills are underway with the slogan "Collective Cooperation at Sea for the Security of Maritime Trade" in a 17,000-kilometer area with a message of peace and friendship.

According to Iranian Navy Commander Hossein Khanzadi, the Chinese were to participate in the war games but it coincided with their New Year holidays.

In December 2019, Iranian, Russian and Chinese naval forces held the first ever joint drill in the Gulf of Oman and northern parts of the Indian Ocean, focusing mostly on counter-terrorism and anti-piracy tactics.

EE/PA