Iran plans new drills near Strait of Hormuz

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Source: AP via CBS

Iran is planning new military exercises near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, according to a naval commander, after threatening to close the strait and completing another set of maneuvers.

One sixth of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's threat to close the passage if the West imposes sanctions on its oil exports unsettled an already nervous world oil market.

The semiofficial Fars news agency late Thursday quoted the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's naval commander, Adm. Ali Fadavi, as saying that the upcoming exercise would be the seventh staging of an annual drill called "The Great Prophet."

Fadavi said the next round of war games would be "different" from previous ones. He did not elaborate. The admiral said the drill would take place in the Iranian month of Bahman, which roughly corresponds to February.


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