Iran says it will stage naval exercises with Oman
TEHRAN, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Iran said it was preparing for joint naval
exercises with Oman as part of its efforts to improve its relations with
Gulf Arab countries.
``Reciprocal respect can be forged among Persian Gulf countries through
such exercises,'' the English-language Iran Daily quoted navy chief Admiral
Abbas Mohtaj as saying.
News of the planned exercise could upset the United Arab Emirates which
is locked in a bitter dispute with Iran over the sovereignty of three small
but strategically placed islands in a key Gulf shipping channel.
Earlier this year, the UAE threatened to leave the six-nation Gulf Cooperation
Council, of which Oman is a member, because it was unhappy about the pace
of rapprochement between non-Arab Iran and the Gulf Arabs.
Mohtaj said Iran and Oman had until now been only observing each other's
military exercises. The two countries agreed last year to military and
logistical cooperation, including joint military exercises.
The Islamic republic, keen on forging regional alliance to offset foreign
presence in the Gulf, has tried for a decade to conduct joint military
exercises with American-allied Gulf Arab states.
But reaction from conservative Gulf monarchies have generally been lukewarm
amid lingering suspicion against the Islamic republic. Conservative Arab
monarchies and their Western allies are wary of war games Iranian forces
regularly stage in the Gulf and Oman Sea.
But Mohtaj described such concerns as ``inappropriate.''
``The sensitivity of regional countries towards Iranian war games is
an inappropriate reaction...especially when these same countries stage
manoeuvres with extra-territorial countries,'' he said.
``Each and every military (Iranian) exercise in the Persian Gulf is
useful to ensure regional peace and stability,'' he added.
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