Iran, US and Israel announce new war games as tensions rise in the Gulf

Surge in military activity in the region comes amid threat of EU embargo on Iranian oil and possible closure of strait of Hormuz

• Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
• guardian.co.uk, Friday 6 January 2012 13.49 GMT

Iran’s navy conducting the Velayat-90 naval war games in the strait of Hormuz on New Year’s Day. Photograph: Mohsen Shandiz/Corbis

 

Tensions on the oil shipping lanes in the Gulf have escalated with the announcement of new naval exercises by Iran‘s Revolutionary Guards and news that Israel and the US are planning to carry out extensive joint manoeuvres in the region.

The naval commander for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, said the drill in February would be “different compared to previous exercises held by the IRGC”. The Iranian navy finished 10 days of exercises in the Gulf on Monday, during which it tested a range of new missiles. It warned that Iran could close the strait of Hormuz, the narrowest point in the Gulf, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes.

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