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What is scope of Iran-Oman joint military drill near Hormuz?

The drill was held only days after the Pentagon dispatched one of its largest aircraft carriers to the strategic waters, causing unease in Tehran amid risks of potential confrontations stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.   

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard boats attack a naval vessel during a three-day military drill in the Gulf on April 22, 2010.
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard boats attack a naval vessel during a three-day military drill in the Gulf on April 22, 2010. — MEHDI MARIZAD/FARS NEWS/AFP via Getty Images

TEHRAN — Iran's naval forces held a joint drill with Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, as the American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower was already in the Persian Gulf to back up Israel in its ongoing war against Hamas.  

The stated purpose of the drill, according to Iran's state media, was "to enhance combat preparedness … in the face of maritime security scenarios." It was part of earlier agreements reached at meetings of the Omani-Iranian Military Friendship Committee.   

Iran's regular army, known as Artesh, and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) both took part in the exercise, where they showed off copters, drones, reconnaissance aircraft and speedboats. The Iranian side also brought in its Sahand and Dena destroyers, which Tehran says have been built from scratch with Iranian technology and expertise. "The two destroyers exhibited a stunning image of national self-sufficiency in the field of naval defense," wrote the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency. 

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