Israel, US in Hormuz tit-for-tat against Iran

JERUSALEM / TEHRAN

Iranian navy conducts the ‘Velayat-90’ naval wargames in the Strait of Hormuz in this photo. Iran announces it will conduct new wargames in February. ABACA photo

Israel and the United States are to hold a joint missile defense exercise, an Israeli military naval commander said Jan. 5, as Iran plans new military exercises near the Strait of Hormuz after threatening to close the strait and completing another set of maneuvers.

Together with U.S. forces, the Israeli military is gearing up for a major missile defense exercise, the Israeli military has announced. Although the exercise, codenamed “Austere Challenge 12,” comes at a time of spiraling regional tensions over Iran’s suspected nuclear arms program, the army said the maneuvers had been planned in advance.

“The exercise scenario involves notional, simulated events as well as some field training and is not in response to any real-world event,” the military said. “The U.S. European Command and the Israel Defense Forces periodically conduct routine exercises in Israel. These exercises, which are part of a long-standing strategic partnership, are planned in advance and part of a routine training cycle designed to improve the interoperability of our defense systems.” It did not say when the exercise would take place. Local media said the exercises would begin in the spring and would be the biggest joint maneuvers to be executed between the two allies.

‘The Great Prophet’

Iran is also planning new military exercises. The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s naval commander Adm. Ali Fadavi as saying the upcoming exercise would be the seventh staging of an annual drill called “The Great Prophet.”

Fadavi said the next round of war games would be “different” from previous ones. He did not elaborate. The admiral said the drill would take place in the Iranian month of Bahman, roughly corresponding to February. The Guards, Iran’s most powerful military force, have the same air, naval and ground branches as the regular military. They are also in charge of Iran’s missile program. Iran’s navy ended a 10-day drill Jan. 3 in the waters off the strait.

The decision comes as Western powers ratchet up sanctions. EU diplomats said a European Union embargo on Iranian crude oil imports could take a few months to come into effect because of a push by some EU capitals for a delay they say is necessary to shield their debt-stricken economies.

EU capitals have agreed, in principle, to implement an embargo on Iranian oil, as part of Western efforts to put pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program. Details of how the ban would be imposed are under discussion in Brussels, with the goal of having a final decision by the end of the month.