Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation against any attack, which would choke a fifth of global oil flows and send crude prices sharply higher.
The waterway connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
Iran‘s Revolutionary Guards have conducted a drill named “Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz”, to test the readiness of the guards’ naval units to protect the waterway, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Monday.
“Intelligently utilising the geopolitical advantages of the Islamic Republic in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are among the main objectives of this exercise,” Tasnim said.
Iran‘s civil defence organisation held a chemical defence drill in the Pars Special Economic Energy Zone on Monday to strengthen preparedness for potential chemical incidents in the energy hub located in southern Iran.
Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi on Sunday signalled Iran‘s readiness to compromise on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, telling the BBC that the ball was “in America’s court to prove that they want to do a deal.”
Prior to the US joining Israel in striking Iranian nuclear sites in June, Iran-US nuclear talks had stalled over Washington’s demand that Tehran forgo enrichment on its soil, which the US views as a pathway to an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Iran says its nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes and is ready to assuage concerns regarding nuclear weapons by “building trust that enrichment is and will stay for peaceful purposes.”
Iran‘s Foreign Ministry said Araqchi had discussed cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as Tehran’s technical point of view regarding nuclear talks with the US during his meeting with IAEA head Rafael Grossi.