Omanis observing Iranian military maneuvers
TEHRAN, Dec 4 (AFP) - An Omani military team is observing Iranian naval
exercises which kicked off Friday in the Oman Sea and the strategic Strait
of Hormuz, in new sign of warmer ties between Iran and its Persian Gulf
Arab neighbours.
Colonel Issa Golverdi said the decision to allow the Omanis to observe
had been taken at high-level military talks between the two countries,
the official Iranian newsagency IRNA reported.
The main phase of the five-day "Vahdat-77" (Unity 77) air
and naval exercises started Friday with a "six-gun salute in a gesture
of friendship" to the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC), he said.
The GCC consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) -- all Iran's neighbors across the Gulf.
"For the first time, the programmes and information needed for
the exercises have been communicated to the neighboring countries in the
Persian Gulf.
This is an evolution in the exchange of military information between
the region's countries," Golverdi said. Iran has waged a diplomatic
charm offensive to ease suspicions the Gulf Arab monarchies have held towards
the Islamic republic since the 1979 revolution.
Tensions have considerably eased since the election of President Mohammad
Khatami in May 1997, but the two sides are still divided by a territorial
dispute between Iran and the UAE.
The exercises, covering a 20,000-square-kilometer (8,000-square-mile)
area, involve around 50,000 troops and will employ Russian-made Sukhoi-24
bombers as well as home-manufactured bombs weighing around 250 pounds (110
kilogrammes).
Military officials said Monday they were planning to test their latest
weapons in the maneuvers near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's navy commander Admiral Abbas Mohtaj said last week that submarines
bought from Russia in early 1990s will also be deployed. Iran's purchase
of the submarines provoked fears among Gulf Arab states that they may pose
a threat to Gulf stability.
