The files we follow: Relations between Iran and its neighboring countries; Relations between Iran and the United States; Relations between Iran and the BRICS; Relations between Turkey and the European Union; Relations between Turkey and the BRICS.
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On Tuesday 10 March, a military naval exercise was conducted in Iranian maritime territory in the Gulf of Oman, near the coast of the city of Chabahar. This annual trilateral ‘Maritime Security Belt 2025’ exercise was conducted by approximately 15 vessels from the Iranian, Chinese and Russian fleets, according to the media outlet SpecialEurasia. The Russian Federation sent the corvettes ‘Rezki’ and ‘Hero of the Russian Federation Tsydenzhapov’, as well as the medium-sized tanker ‘Pechenga’. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army deployed the destroyer Baotou and the supply ship Lac Gaoyou. Finally, according to the Iranian agency Tasnim, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps and naval forces have also deployed part of their forces. The state media justified this joint exercise as an effort to strengthen ‘regional security’ as well as ‘multilateral cooperation’.
Since 2018, the three countries have been regularly conducted joint exercises, particularly to promote military cooperation. From a strategic point of view, these military demonstrations reinforce the position of these participants in favour of an alternative model of the international system, and are a demonstration of strength, particularly with regard to the region’s trade routes. Given the ongoing negotiations between Kiev, Moscow and Washington on the Russian-Ukrainian war, which involve a recent rapprochement between Russia and the United States, Iran’s primary interest lies in multiplying its demonstrations of strength and demonstrating its presence in key areas of international trade. According to the US Energy Information Administration, more than 21% of the world’s oil consumption will pass through the Strait of Hormuz in 2022. The Strait of Hormuz is a major gateway for world trade, linking Asia with the Middle East and Europe. More than 90% of the oil produced in the Persian Gulf passes through this narrow 55-kilometre strait. Because of the regional implications, and in particular the hydrocarbon exports that are vital to Iran, and which amounted to 1.8 million barrels per day in September 2024, Tehran has not decided to launch military operations to block the strait. However, the Shahid Bahonar port in the port city of Bandar Abbas, home to both the Islamic Republic’s conventional forces and the Revolutionary Guards Corps, is one of Iran’s main naval bases, enabling Iran to exert constant pressure on the Straits and secure trade in and out of Iranian territory.
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