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Iran holds annual war games near Strait of Hormuz

The three-day military drills come as the Donald Trump administration wants to restore international sanctions on Iran.

Iranian 200-kilometre (120-mile) range Qader (Ghader) ground-to-sea missile is launched on the last day of navy war games near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran on January 2, 2012. AFP PHOTO/JAMEJAMONLINE/EBRAHIM NOROOZI (Photo credit should read EBRAHIM NOROOZI/AFP via Getty Images)
Iranian 200-kilometer (120-mile) range Qader (Ghader) ground-to-sea missile is launched on the last day of navy war games near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran on Jan. 2, 2012. — EBRAHIM NOROOZI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran is holding three days of military drills near the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway, state media reported, amid heightened tensions with the United States over Washington's push to reimpose international sanctions on Tehran.

The annual exercises, called Zolfaghar-99, involve naval, air and ground forces and are taking place in a 2-million-square-meter zone in the strategic waters, state news agency IRNA said.

“Implementation of tactical plans, pursuing tests of surface-to-surface cruise missiles, surface-to-air missiles, rocket launchers, drones … are the main aim of the army maneuver to defend territorial waters,” said the IRNA.

The spokesman for the exercises, Adm. Shahram Irani, said the United States had pulled back its drones after warnings from Iran to leave the area.

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