Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Alireza Tangsiri announced that the Basij’s naval unit will hold on Friday a drill in the “countries of the ‘Axis of Resistance’”.
The IRGC’s Sepah News said the drill will be carried out along the shores of Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon on the occasion of Jerusalem Day that Iran marks on the final Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan every year.
The maneuvers will be held in solidarity with the Palestinian people and involve 3,000 large and small vessels, said Tangsiri.
They will be aimed at displaying the “capabilities of the Axis of Resistance at sea and deliver a message to the Zionist entity,” he went on to say.
The drill will only compound concerns about marine navigation in the region as the Iran-backed Houthi militias continue to launch attacks against shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Western countries have staged a series of strikes against the Houthis in Yemen to curb their military capabilities.
The IRGC had announced in December the formation of the Basij naval unit that boasts light and heavy vessels and operates within an area that stretches to the shores of Tanzania.
The formation of the unit was in implementation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s instructions to the parliament and government to expand Iran’s naval activities.
President Ebrahim Raisi vowed last week that his country would forge ahead with its strategy of “expanding at sea” according to Khamenei’s plan.
