Iran, Oman hold joint naval drill

TEHRAN,Jan.23(MNA) – Iran and Oman held a joint naval drill in the south of the Iranian Hormuz Island in the Persian Gulf, the Public Relations Department of the Iranian Navy announced on Tuesday. During the drill, which lasted about 45 minutes, a number of Iranian and Omani naval vessels, helicopters, and planes rescued a commercial ship which had caught fire and transported the crew members who had been injured. The ship with 20 crew members aboard had departed from the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, in Hormozgan Province, and was bound for Port of Salalah in Oman. Iran’s Alvand and Larak ships, an Iranian BH7 hovercraft, an Iranian AB helicopter, and an Iranian plane participated in the drill. Iranian Commodore Ramin Taqipour said on Tuesday that in view of the fact that Iran and Oman border one of the busiest international waterways, naval forces of the two countries hold annual naval exercises in order to promote unity among regional countries and the security of the region. An Omani warship had recently docked in a port in the Persian Gulf. The move was meant to help strengthen ties between armed forces of the two friendly countries.