Iran Holds Naval Exercise Near Sensitive Strait of Hormuz

The Iranian navy began a three-day exercise in the Sea of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, deploying an array of warships, drones, and missiles.

One of the exercise's objectives is to devise "tactical offensive and defensive strategies for safeguarding the country's territorial waters and shipping lanes," the military said on its website.

The navy will test-fire surface-to-surface and shore-to-sea cruise missiles and torpedoes, and rocket-launching systems fitted on warships, submarines, aircraft and drones, it added.

Dubbed "Zolfaghar 99", the exercise will be held over two million square kilometres (772,000 square miles) of sea stretching from the northern part of the Indian Ocean to the eastern end of the Strait of Hormuz, the sensitive shipping lane from the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of world oil output passes.

The exercise's spokesman, Commodore Shahram Irani, said that foreign aircraft, especially US drones, had been warned to steer clear of the area.

"We saw focused activities by American UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) to gather information" on the exercise, he told the armed forces' website, adding that the US aircraft had since left the area.

In July, Iran's ideological force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, blasted a mock-up of a US aircraft carrier with missiles during an exercise near the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Navy condemned those maneuvers as "irresponsible and reckless", and an attempt "to intimidate and coerce".

Tensions between Iran and the United States have soared since President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear agreement with Tehran in 2018 and unilaterally reimposed crippling economic sanctions.

Their animosity deepened after a US drone strike killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani outside Baghdad airport in January, prompting Iran to retaliate with missile strikes against bases used by the US military in neighboring Iraq.

Photo: IRNA

Taken to Brink by Trump, GCC States Are Backpedaling on Iran

By Zainab Fattah

An expanded soccer tournament, a direct flight, clandestine meetings and a pledge to release prisoners of war; diplomacy is breaking out as Gulf Arab nations back away from a Donald Trump-inspired confrontation with Iran. And the signs are everywhere.

Last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain played their first games of the 2019 Arabian Gulf Cup in Qatar after a last-minute decision to take part—an apparent breakthrough in a 30-month feud that saw them halt trade and flights over Qatar’s links with Iran and support for Islamist groups.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition that’s fought Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015 began releasing jailed Houthis, as efforts to end the conflict gather momentum. Oman is quietly hosting high-level meetings, according to people familiar with the matter, and even Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hinted at direct channels with the U.A.E.

Spooked by the prospect of a catastrophic war with Iran and its proxy militias across the region, Gulf monarchies are in the midst of a strategic rethink. The U.A.E., whose economic model relies in large part on its international links, quickly realized it had most to lose from a military escalation. It had removed most of its troops from Yemen by the end of a turbulent summer that saw oil tankers targeted and a U.S. drone downed in the Gulf without significant American response.

While the humanitarian catastrophe unleashed by the Yemen war trained an unwelcome spotlight on Saudi Arabia, it took a brazen strike on Saudi oil installations—which knocked out half the country’s crude production—to ram home the risks and prove that Trump was not about to ride to his allies’ rescue.

“The attacks shattered any illusion of this magical U.S. security umbrella,” said David Roberts, an assistant professor at King’s College London who studies the Gulf. “It burst the bubble and showed that Iran had the willingness to both do something astonishing like the attack on Aramco facilities and the capability to carry it out.”

Iran denies U.S. and Saudi assertions it carried out the Sept. 14 strikes, pointing to Houthi claims of responsibility. But people familiar with investigations into the attacks say they were almost certainly launched from southwestern Iran -- an explosive escalation in Tehran’s pushback against an economic offensive unleashed by Trump and enthusiastically backed by the Saudis.

The Trump administration withdrew last year from the 2015 deal meant to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, and reimposed sanctions that have crippled its oil exports. But the “maximum pressure” policy is designed to coax Tehran into more concessions not to drag the U.S. into a new Middle East war just as it draws down troops in Syria.

Rolling back Shiite Muslim Iran’s power remains a priority for the Sunni Gulf Arab leadership. There’s an increasing recognition, however, that no one stands to gain from a military escalation in the world’s top oil-exporting region.

Saudi Arabia’s Center for International Communication didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. The U.A.E. declined to comment. But in a Nov. 10 speech, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said he saw “a path to a deal with Iran that all parties might soon” be ready to embark on if Tehran demonstrated commitment.

War to ‘Cold Peace’

In search of a breakthrough, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, a former cricketer elected with the backing of a powerful army that provides extensive support for the Saudi military, shuttled between Tehran and Riyadh in October. He met Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani, as well as Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, describing talks as “encouraging.”

Khan said he traveled at the request of Trump and Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir said the diplomacy wasn’t prompted by the kingdom. But deepening unease in the Persian Gulf catalyzed the effort.

Turning these overtures into lasting peace between countries that have grown further apart since the 1979 Iranian revolution remains far off.

The Gulf states resent Iran’s deep reach into Arab nations. While ongoing protests in Iraq and Lebanon suggest Iran has reached the limit of its regional influence, they are unlikely to reverse political and military advances decades in the making.

“Cold peace is possible but we are certainly far from a grand bargain,” said Afshin Molavi, senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins. “For that, both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would have to accept a role for Iran in Arab countries such as Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”

As they explore ways forward, Gulf states are moving at different speeds.

The U.A.E. broke with the U.S. and Saudi Arabia by not naming Iran as the culprit behind attacks in May and June on oil tankers as they sailed toward the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s foremost oil shipping chokepoint.

It sent coast guard officials to Iran for the first time in six years and Rouhani hinted at other meetings with senior U.A.E. officials. “We’re moving toward improved relations,” he said Oct. 14. Saudi Arabia is catching up.

Chokepoint

Washington built a multilateral naval operation to protect shipping in the Persian Gulf after the attacks and sent more troops to Saudi Arabia. Both actions resulted in a “down tick” in Iranian actions,” U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Nov. 13. “The Iranians should not mistake our restraint for weakness.”

Where the U.S. holds back, however, others are crowding in. Besides his role in saving Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Russian President Vladimir Putin has forged a partnership with Iran, created an oil alliance with Saudi Arabia and built ties with Egypt’s Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, who was warned by the U.S. last month against plans to purchase Russian jets.

Putin traveled to Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. in October after visits by the Saudi king and the U.A.E.’s de-facto leader Mohammad bin Zayed to Moscow. The two Gulf countries and Russia have signed deals valued at billions of dollars.

For Iran’s Rouhani, the case for regional engagement is obvious.

“Don’t you know that Iran is going to stay here and we will remain neighbors throughout history?” he has said, referring to Iran’s Arab neighbors. “Trump will only be around for a few years and will go back to whatever it was he was doing.”

Photo: IRNA

Iran FM Pitches Persian Gulf Security Plan to Neighbors

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif pitched the Islamic Republic's Persian Gulf security plan to neighboring nations on Thursday, saying regional security cannot be provided by foreign powers.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced the plan at the UN General Assembly last month, calling on Gulf nations including arch-rival Saudi Arabia to join it but without giving details.

In an article published on Thursday in Arabic by Kuwait's Al Rai daily, Zarif said that the plan, named Hormuz Peace Endeavor, offered the chance of "expansive security" and cooperation between Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.

Cooperation could include areas such as a regional non-aggression pact, combatting terrorism, cybersecurity, energy and freedom of navigation, Zarif said.

"In order to save the region from the edge of ruin, we feel the necessity of realising a new discourse more than ever," he wrote in the article, a translation of which was provided by his ministry.

"The fate of the people and nations of the Persian Gulf is entwined ... either everyone benefits from security in the region or everyone will be deprived of it," Zarif said.

Tensions have risen in the Gulf since last year when US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned a 2015 nuclear deal between major powers and Iran and began reimposing crippling sanctions.

They flared again this May when Iran began reducing its own commitments under the deal and the US deployed military assets to the region. Since then, ships have been attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized.

In June, Trump called off air strikes against Iran at the last minute after the Islamic republic's forces shot down a US drone.

Last month, twin attacks on Saudi oil infrastructure, which knocked out half the kingdom's production, drew accusations of blame against Iran not only from the US but also from its European allies.

Tehran has denied any involvement in the attacks, which were claimed by Iran-backed rebels fighting a Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

The US has since formed a coalition with its allies Australia, Bahrain, Britain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to escort commercial shipping in the Gulf.

Tehran has warned that the planned US-led International Maritime Security Construct will only increase instability.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Accuses Foreign Forces of Raising Persian Gulf 'Insecurity'

By Amir Havasi

President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday denounced the presence of foreign forces in the Persian Gulf and said Iran will present a peace plan, after its arch-foe Washington ordered reinforcements to the tense region.

"Foreign forces can cause problems and insecurity for our people and for our region," Rouhani said before a military parade commemorating the Iran-Iraq war.

Rouhani also said Iran would present a peace plan to the United Nations within days.

"In this sensitive and important historical moment, we announce to our neighbours that we extend the hand of friendship and brotherhood to them," he said.

Rouhani and top military brass saluted as row after row of soldiers marched past them in tight formation, followed by an array of homegrown military hardware.

The parade showcased tanks, armoured vehicles, drones and missiles—including the Khorramshahr, said to have a range of 2,000 kilometres (more than 1,200 miles).

Tensions between Iran and the US and its allies have threatened to boil over since May last year when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal and later began reimposing sanctions.

The tensions escalated in the wake of devastating September 14 attacks on Saudi oil installations that Washington and Riyadh have, to varying degrees, blamed on Tehran.

Following the attacks, which triggered a spike in global oil prices, Trump initially raised the possibility of a military response, saying the US was "locked and loaded".

Washington later expanded its long list of sanctions against Tehran, targeting its central bank, but Trump indicated he did not plan military action.

On Friday, Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the US was sending reinforcements to Saudi Arabia at "the kingdom's request", but noted they would be "defensive in nature".

'Stay Away'

Rouhani called on the foreign powers to "stay away" from the Gulf.

"If they're sincere, then they should not make our region the site of an arms race," he said.

"Your presence has always brought pain and misery... The farther you keep yourselves from our region and our nations, the more security there will be," he added.

"Our logic is the logic of a Persian Gulf whose security comes from within."

The annual military parade marks the start of the week commemorating Iran's 1980-1988 war with Iraq.

Among the new weaponry debuting at Sunday's parade was an upgraded warhead for the Khorramshahr ballistic missile, the Kaman 12 drone with a range of 1,000 kilometres and a mobile radar system capable of detecting landmines, local media reported.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted that Rouhani would announce details of the "Hormuz Peace Endeavour" at the UN General Assembly.

Rouhani is to travel to New York on Monday, a day before general debate kicks off at the UN gathering.

Tensions have flared in the Gulf since May, when Iran began reducing its commitments to the nuclear deal and the US said it was sending forces to waters near the Islamic republic in response to "indications of a credible threat".

The US deployed an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the sensitive waterways, before sending B-52 bombers, an amphibious assault ship and a Patriot missile battery.

Following the deployments, commercial ships were mysteriously attacked, drones downed and oil tankers seized in Gulf waters.

'Act of War'

Trump in June authorised a military strike after Iran shot down a US drone, only to call off the retaliation at the last moment.

The crisis deepened with the September 14 attacks on Saudi energy giant Aramco's Abqaiq processing plant and Khurais oilfield which halved the kingdom's crude output.

Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed responsibility, but the US says attacks involved cruise missiles from Iran and amounted to "an act of war".

Saudi Arabia, which has been bogged down in a five-year war in Yemen, has warned of "appropriate measures" once the source of the strikes is confirmed by a UN investigation.

The UN has welcomed a Huthi plan for a cessation of hostilities announced Friday, but Saudi Arabia was sceptical.

After months of rising tensions, Iran's semi-official news agency ISNA said Sunday a Swedish-owned oil tanker detained two months ago by Iranian forces would be released "soon".

But "the case regarding its legal violations is still open with Iran's judicial authorities," it quoted the head of the local maritime organization as saying.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Denies French Accusations Over Alleged Bomb Plot

Iran on Tuesday denied French accusations that one of its diplomats was involved in an alleged bomb plot targeting an exiled opposition group near Paris in June.

"We deny the accusations and forcefully condemn the Iranian diplomat's arrest and call for his immediate release," the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

It described the allegations as a conspiracy to "sabotage Iran's ancient and long-standing relations with France and other significant European countries."

The statement was released minutes before a French diplomatic source told AFP that security services believed the Iranian intelligence ministry was behind the foiled plot.

In retaliation, France announced it had frozen assets belonging to two suspected Iranian intelligence operatives as well as Iran's ministry of security and intelligence.

"This extremely serious act envisaged on our territory could not go without a response," France's interior, foreign and economy ministers said in a rare joint statement.

The opposition meeting allegedly targeted was also attended by leading US figures, including close allies of President Donald Trump.

Six people were arrested afterwards in coordinated raids by European police forces, including an Iranian diplomat identified as Assadollah Asadi, who is set to be extradited from Germany to Belgium for prosecution.

Asadi was targeted by France for the six-month asset freeze along with another man named as Saeid Hashemi Moghadam.

Iran has accused the opposition group, the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK), which Tehran considers a "terrorist" group, of orchestrating the plot to discredit President Hassan Rouhani as he embarked on a tour of Europe.

Photo Credit: Wikicommons

Iran Supreme Leader Says Saudi, UAE 'Funded' Ahvaz Attackers

Iran's supreme leader on Monday said the attackers who killed 24 people at a weekend military parade in the southwestern city of Ahvaz were funded by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. 

"Based on reports, this cowardly act was the work of those very individuals who are rescued by the Americans whenever they are in trouble and who are funded by the Saudis and the (United) Arab Emirates," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, in remarks posted on his official website.

He did not give any further details on the identity of those behind what he called a "terrorist attack.”

In the immediate aftermath of the attack on Saturday, Iranian authorities said they suspected Arab separatist groups were behind the attack, none of whom is known to have a presence in Syria.

Khamenei, who was speaking to a group of Iranian athletes, said the attack "once again shows the Iranian nation faces many enemies on its proud path of progress and development".

"We will most certainly rigorously punish the perpetrators of this attack," he added.

Photo Credit: IRNA

US Navy Sees Better Iranian Behavior in Persian Gulf

The Iranian military's behavior in the Persian Gulf has changed "across the board" in recent months, the US Navy said on Thursday, after years of tensions in the busy waterway.

Commander Bill Urban, spokesman for the Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, said there had been no "unsafe or unprofessional" interactions with the Iranians at sea since August 14, 2017 when an Iranian drone with no lights on flew close to US aircraft operating in the Gulf.

It "is a substantial period time since then, and something that we think is great," Urban told reporters.

Last year and in 2016, the US Navy complained repeatedly about the behaviour of Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels, which would often shadow and steer towards US ships.

In at least one incident, US sailors had to fire flares and warning shots before the Iranians turned away.

Urban said that since then, the Iranians have stopped approaching so closely.

"We have seen an across-the-board change in behaviour," Urban said. "I don't necessarily have a reason for that but it's pretty clear that it's something they are consciously doing."

The change comes amid increased rhetoric from Washington about Iran's "malign influence" in the region and US President Donald Trump's persistent railing against the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

The Fifth Fleet and its associated task forces patrol the Gulf continuously and inspect some of the ships passing through.

In 2016, navy personnel seized weapons, including machine guns and rocket launchers, they suspected were headed from Iran to Yemen.

Urban said task forces this year have seized record amounts of heroin, some of which may have been from the Taliban, Afghanistan's biggest militant group. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards is a paramilitary force that answers directly to the Islamic republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In January 2016, the Iranians briefly captured the crew of two small US patrol boats that strayed into Iranian waters. The 10 US sailors were released 24 hours later.

Photo Credit: Global Military Review