By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
TEHRAN/BEIJING (Worthy News) – China, Iran, and Russia have begun a massive joint naval exercise in the Gulf of Oman, adding to Western concerns about heightened military tensions in the region.
The three nations, whose leaders oppose the U.S.-led world order, sent numerous vessels, aircraft, and equipment to the area, footage revealed.
Chinese state television and a video released by the Russian navy showed the ongoing drill, known as “Marine Security Belt 2024.”
Beijing sent China’s guided-missile destroyer Urumqi and the guided-missile frigate Linyi to the exercise, said sources familiar with the operation. Russia’s forces are being led by the Varyag, a Slava-class cruiser, Worthy News monitored.
More than 20 ships, support vessels, and combat boats from the three countries, as well as naval helicopters, are reportedly involved in the exercise.
A report by Iranian state television quoted the drill’s spokesperson, Admiral Mostafa Tajaddini, as saying the drill will take place in 17,000 square kilometers (6,600 square miles) of water.
PIRACY AND TERRORISM
Tajaddini clarified that the three nations’ drill — their fourth since 2019 — was also meant to improve trade, confront “piracy and terrorism, support humanitarian activities and the exchange of information in the field of rescue.”
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, and South Africa are observers of the military exercise.
Ironically, the Gulf of Oman, where the drill takes place, has seen several attacks since 2019 that the U.S. blamed on Iran.
It also saw ship seizures by Tehran following the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers, aimed at preventing the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons.
A fifth of all oil traded passes through the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf’s narrow mouth, according to experts.
Iran has increased military cooperation with China and Russia in response to regional tensions with the United States, including over Israel’s war in Gaza. Tehran also faced Washington’s anger over its delivery of military drones to Russia, which are now used in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A chilling new documentary has highlighted the growing crisis for Christians in Nigeria, where investigators say more than three million believers face persecution from Islamic militants and other extremist groups.
A tense calm has returned to the Dutch city of The Hague after police used teargas and a water cannon to disperse violent anti-immigration protesters late Saturday. Authorities said at least 30 people were arrested and two police officers were injured during the unrest, which erupted just weeks before early national elections, overshadowed by a fierce debate on migration.
Senate Republicans on Thursday confirmed 48 of President Donald Trump’s executive branch nominees in a single vote, advancing his agenda to fill key government positions after invoking a new rules change last week.
Erika Kirk, the widow of slain born-again Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk, has been unanimously chosen as the new chief executive officer and chair of the board of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), the influential group her husband founded to rally young Americans behind conservative Christian causes.
Authorities in Indonesia’s Central Java Province have halted construction of a church and related tourism compound after pressure from local council members and Muslim groups amid rising anti-Christian incidents in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, sources confirmed Thursday.
A young Christian man is hiding in Pakistan after being falsely accused of making “blasphemous” comments against Islam, an offence that potentially carries the death penalty under the Islamic nation’s strict blasphemy legislation, Worthy News learned Thursday.
France was gripped by a second wave of nationwide strikes on Thursday, as hundreds of thousands marched against austerity measures and looming budget cuts—unrest that not only deepens the political crisis for President Emmanuel Macron and his new prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, but also unfolds in a season many prophecy watchers view as charged with significance.