By Syed Zafar Mehdi
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Iran’s top naval commander said Monday that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) maintain “full 24-hour intelligence dominance” over the Strait of Hormuz.
IRGC Navy Chief Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri made the remarks hours after the launch of a military drill in the strait, one of the world’s most strategically important choke points located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The IRGC Navy’s public relations wing described the exercise as “combined, live and purpose-driven” drills.
Iran’s state media quoted Tangsiri as saying that the IRGC Navy’s surveillance in the Strait of Hormuz is “comprehensive at surface, aerial and even sub-surface levels.”
This intelligence, he said, ensures the “safe passage of vessels” through the strait, adding that more than 80 oil tankers and container ships pass through it daily, accounting for a significant portion of maritime trade.
He said the drills are being conducted in both the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, describing the islands in the two waterways as “impregnable fortresses.”
Tangsiri said the defense of these islands and the entire Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz “is the responsibility of the IRGC Navy,” which conducts “routine annual exercises to ensure security” in the strategic region.
He stressed that the drills are part of the IRGC Navy’s annual program, with its uniqueness lying in the “tactical maneuvers and equipment being employed,” noting that some of them have not been officially unveiled yet.
Tangsiri said the “rapid and decisive response” of IRGC operational units to maritime security threats is at the “core of the drills.”
He further said that the IRGC Navy’s rapid-response units regularly train to intervene, inspect or seize “unauthorized vessels” in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf.
Earlier Monday, the IRGC said an exercise titled “Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz” is being conducted under the field supervision of IRGC Commander-in-Chief Major General Mohammad Pakpour.
Among its key objectives, the statement noted, are assessing the operational readiness of IRGC Navy units, testing security plans and scenarios for reciprocal military action in response to potential security and military threats in the Strait of Hormuz region, and evaluating the geopolitical advantages of the Islamic Republic in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
The drills come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US following the deployment of US aircraft carriers and bombers to the Persian Gulf region.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump announced that a second US aircraft carrier would be deployed to the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln and a fleet of destroyers are already stationed in the region amid simmering tensions between the two countries.
Despite rising tensions, Tehran and Washington are set to hold the next round of nuclear negotiations in Geneva on Tuesday under Omani mediation.
Indirect nuclear diplomacy resumed in Muscat earlier this month, nearly eight months after talks were suspended following an Israeli attack on Iran that sparked a 12-day war.