Iranian Navy launched military drills in Caspian Sea

A file photo of an Iranian Navy drill

The Iranian Navy has launched military drills in the Caspian Sea as a means of sending across the Armed Forces’ message of “peace and friendship.”

The five-day drills, codenamed Lasting Security and Authority 96, started in an area measuring more than 88,000 square kilometers across the waters on Sunday.

Speaking to reporters, Commander of the Navy’s Northern Fleet Captain Ahmad-Reza Baqeri said the drills feature five stages. The first stage, which began four months ago, comprised scheduling and planning.

During the subsequent stages, naval forces practice briefing, naval drilling, battles with mock enemy forces, performance of calculated warfare tactics as well as joint operations enlisting vessels, aircraft, coastal and seaborne operational units and logistical teams.

A file photo of Iran’s Damavand destroyer, which has joined 'Lasting Security and Authority 96' drills

“As before, our message, [which is meant to be communicated] by the exercise is that of peace and friendship under the aegis of authority and capability in the Caspian Sea,” Baqeri stated.

According to the Northern Fleet, the main goal pursued by staging the drills is to show the Armed Forces’ readiness to establish lasting security in the strategic waters and to cooperate with neighbors towards the enhancement of stability in the waterways.

The Islamic Republic’s military doctrine holds that the country’s armed capability solely serves defense purposes and poses no threat to other states.