Three of the biggest U.S. adversaries – China, Iran and Russia – plan to conduct naval exercises in the Persian Gulf as early as this year or early next year, the Russian ambassador to Iran said Monday.
Levan Dzhagaryan told the RIA Novosti news agency that the exercises are aimed at “taking action to ensure the safety of international shipping and the fight against sea pirates.”
The three nations held the first of their joint exercises, which Dzhagaryan called “CHIRU” in 2019. Separately, Iran and Russia conducted a joint naval exercise in the northern Indian Ocean in February this year.
The Moscow man in Tehran said Monday he hoped the exercise would be an annual event between the three nations.
The news comes as the United States struggles to complete its withdrawal from Afghanistan, which the Taliban Islamic fundamentalist group reconquered earlier this month in a lightning offensive.
Last week, the new Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. An Iranian government reading reported that Raisi told Xi Iran that it was willing to cooperate with China to establish security, stability and peace in Afghanistan.
“We believe that the departure of foreigners, as well as past experiences in this country, have highlighted the need for the support and participation of all Afghans to ensure the security and development of Afghanistan more than ever,” he said. say the Iranian leader. .
Raisi spoke separately with Russian President Vladimir Putin and told him that “the establishment of security and peace in Afghanistan has always been underlined by Iran and we believe that all Afghan active groups should work together. to establish stability in the country as soon as possible and to enable the United States to establish security and peace in Afghanistan. ” withdrawal to a turning point for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. “
Raisi also praised what he described as Iranian-Russian cooperation in Syria, where the combined forces of Moscow and Tehran have pushed for the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad and turned the country’s long-running civil war around.
Meanwhile, Raisi met with Japan’s foreign minister on Sunday, marking the first visit to Iran by a Japanese official since 2019. Last week, the UN nuclear watcher confirmed that the Iran has produced uranium enriched metal up to 20 percent for the first time, and has significantly increased its uranium enrichment production capacity by up to 60 percent.
The governments of Britain, France and Germany accused Tehran of “grave violations” of the 2015 nuclear deal, which was signed by the three European nations. Iran insists it is not interested in developing a bomb and that uranium metal is for its civilian nuclear program.
With publishing cables