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Navy exercises bring Iran, China closer

The joint exercises between the Iranian and Chinese navies signals a step toward closer ties, as well as a possible future challenge to American naval dominance in the Persian Gulf.
Iran's Navy commander Habibollah Sayyari (C) points while standing on a naval ship during Velayat-90 war game on Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran January 1, 2012. Iran test-fired a new medium-range missile, designed to evade radars, on Sunday during the last days of its naval drill in the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency quoted a military official as saying. REUTERS/Fars News/Hamed Jafarnejad (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTR

As global media keep their focus on the Islamic State (IS) and the US airstrikes in Syria and Iraq, other notable, potentially headline-making events are being missed.

On Sept. 20, China dispatched ships to the Persian Gulf for a joint exercise with the Iranian navy — the first time that Chinese warships have ever sailed in the Gulf. The Chinese missile destroyer Changchun and missile frigate Changzhou of the 17th Naval Fleet took part in a five-day joint training drill, the aim of which was "establishing peace, stability, tranquility and multilateral and mutual cooperation," according to Adm. Amir Hossein Azad, commander of Iran's First Naval Zone.

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