Iran said on Friday that it successfully carried out an air defense drill using drones designed to intercept hostile targets in an area stretching from its southwestern to southeastern coasts amid heightened tensions in the region.
“Iranian forces have successfully launched a new air defense method that uses drones to intercept and target hostile targets,” state-run Press TV quoted an Iranian army spokesman as saying.
The two-day drills, which began on Thursday, covered an area from Abadan in southwestern Iran to Chahbahar in southeastern Iran.
Press TV said the army’s air force and navy, the aerospace force and the navy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) participated in the exercises.
Iran launched ballistic missiles at Iraq, Syria, and Pakistan against “ISIS sites” and in Iraq against what it said was a spy base for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.
On Dec. 10, Iran reinforced its air defense capabilities by adding combat drones equipped with air-to-air missiles to its arsenal.
In Oct., the army launched large-scale joint drone drills across the country, including the coastlines of the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The army and its parallel counterpart, the Revolutionary Guard, jointly defend official borders across land, sea, and air. Recently, the army grappled with outdated weaponry and equipment while authorities prioritized bolstering the IRGC and enhancing its military capabilities.
However, over the past two years, the army forces have repeatedly declared the acquisition of drones, ballistic missiles, and "cruise" missiles.
The US and Israel accuse Tehran of providing fleets of drones to its loyal armed groups in the Middle East, notably to the Lebanese group Hezbollah, to the Houthis in Yemen, and armed Iraqi militias.
In April, Iran's defense ministry delivered the army with more than 200 new drones equipped with missile capabilities and electronic warfare systems.
Iran deployed a military flotilla to international waters. The flotilla departed Friday from the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, according to the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.
Rear Admiral Shahram Irani, commander of the Iranian navy, said Iran now simultaneously has four military flotillas in international waters.
Irani pointed to the navy’s two major operations in recent months, including the seizure of a US oil tanker in the Sea of Oman.
Earlier this month, Iran's Alborz warship entered the Red Sea to secure shipping routes amid heightened tension linked to the internationally significant water corridor.
On Jan. 11, Iran's navy seized a ship off Oman to retaliate for the confiscation of its oil from the same tanker last year by the United States.
