Iranian Exercises in the Gulf include naval tactics... joint exercises?

Iran is blustering around a lot, and have now invited their 'neighbors' to play, too.

The IRGC announced on Wednesday that its Navy is scheduled to stage massive naval exercises, codenamed as Payambar-e Azam (The Great Messenger) 5, in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormouz on Thursday.

"Different types of short and mid-range coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles will be used and assessed in the wargames," General Ali Reza Tangsiri, the spokesman for the wargames, told reporters on Wednesday, adding that the exercise will have 4 stages.

The commander mentioned that promotion of planning and coordinating capabilities, exercising rapid and decisive reaction to any enemy threat, utilizing and transferring the experiences achieved during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran to the younger generation, creating the capability for a rapid use of Basij (volunteer) forces in battlefields on different scales, exercising reconnaissance missions for identifying surface and sub-surface targets, and engaging in large-scale war with enemy vessels are among the other goals of staging the military drills.

Tangsiri further announced that during the three-day exercises, the IRGC Navy will also use home-made speedboats equipped with different armaments.

Meantime, the commander stressed that the exercise conveys a message of peace and friendship for the regional states.

"We hope we could stage joint exercises with the military units of the Persian Gulf littoral states to provide security for the region," Tangsiri said.

Also earlier today, another senior IRGC commander voiced Iran's preparedness to stage joint drills with its southern neighbors in the Persian Gulf.

By: Brant