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3. Iran's Revolutionary Guards Begin Military Drills in Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Monday began a series of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported on the eve of talks with the United States.

The war games, the duration of which was not specified, aim to prepare the Guards for "potential security and military threats" in the strait, state TV said, after the United States deployed a large naval force to the area.

Assistant for Political Affairs in the naval forces of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said, “We are closely monitoring the foreign vessels present in the area, and they are within range of our defensive capabilities.”

Iranian hardline politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the strait, a strategic waterway through which about 20 percent of the world's oil production passes.

The exercises, overseen by Guards chief General Mohammad Pakpour, aim to bolster the IRGC's ability to react quickly, Iranian media reported. The Guards are the ideological arm of Iran's military.

The drills take place as Tehran and Washington ready for a new round of talks in Geneva on Tuesday, mediated by Oman.

The two countries, enemies for four decades, resumed discussions on February 6 in Oman, their first since diplomacy broke down last June during the Iran-Israel war, which saw Israel and the United States strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

US President Donald Trump, who is pressuring Iran to reach an agreement, has deployed a significant naval force to the region that he has described as an "armada".

After sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and escort battleships to the Gulf in January, Trump said on Friday that a second aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, would depart "very soon" for the Middle East.

AFP