Iran's military launched a short-range naval missile drill on Wednesday, Iranian state TV reported, at a time of high tension between arch foes Tehran and Washington.
Iran has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, regarding such weapons as an important deterrent and retaliatory force against US and other adversaries in the event of war.
The West sees Iran's missiles both as a conventional military threat to regional stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them.
The Iranian-made warship Makran, which state media described as Iran's biggest warship with a helicopter pad, and a missile-launching ship called Zereh were taking part in the exercise in the Gulf of Oman.
Tensions between the US and Iran have risen since 2018, when US President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal.
The US restored harsh sanctions to pressure Iran into negotiating stricter curbs on its nuclear program, ballistic missile development and support for regional proxy forces.
In recent years, there have been periodic confrontations between Iran's military and US forces in the Gulf, where Tehran holds annual exercises to display the Islamic Republic's military might to confront "foreign threats".
Last week, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew amid tensions between Tehran and Seoul over Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks due to US sanctions.
Iran has one of the biggest missile programs in the Middle East, regarding such weapons as an important deterrent and retaliatory force against US and other adversaries in the event of war.
The West sees Iran's missiles both as a conventional military threat to regional stability and a possible delivery mechanism for nuclear weapons should Tehran develop them.
The Iranian-made warship Makran, which state media described as Iran's biggest warship with a helicopter pad, and a missile-launching ship called Zereh were taking part in the exercise in the Gulf of Oman.
Tensions between the US and Iran have risen since 2018, when US President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal.
The US restored harsh sanctions to pressure Iran into negotiating stricter curbs on its nuclear program, ballistic missile development and support for regional proxy forces.
In recent years, there have been periodic confrontations between Iran's military and US forces in the Gulf, where Tehran holds annual exercises to display the Islamic Republic's military might to confront "foreign threats".
Last week, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps seized a South Korean-flagged tanker in Gulf waters and detained its crew amid tensions between Tehran and Seoul over Iranian funds frozen in South Korean banks due to US sanctions.
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