Iran holds naval drills amid escalating tensions with US

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Sunday said they had conducted naval drills in the Gulf this week, adding that the exercises were aimed at "confronting possible threats" by enemies.

“The military drill aimed at controlling the security of the international waterways and in line with the IRGC scheduled programs,” according to a statement on state-owned IRNA.

Last week, Reuters reported that United States officials believed Iran had started naval exercises in the Gulf, apparently moving up the timing of annual drills as tensions escalate between Tehran and Washington.

The US military has recently seen an uptick in Iranian naval activity, which extended to the Strait of Hormuz – a strategic waterway for oil shipmentsthat Iran has threatened to block.

Almost 100 vessels were involved in the drills, including small boats, an unnamed US official said.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has decided to withdraw from an Obama-era nuclear agreement with Tehran and to re-impose sanctions, which had been lifted with the deal’s implementation in 2015. 

Sanctions against Iran will be fully enforced from Aug.7, and will apply to Iran’s purchase of US dollars, gold and precious metals trade, coal, carpets, foodstuffs, industrial-related software and on certain financial transactions.

The Trump administration has also warned other countries to halt all imports of Iranian oil from Nov. 4 or face US financial measures.

Senior Iranian officials have warned the country would not easily yield to a renewed US campaign to strangle Iran’s vital oil exports.