DUBAI: In a direct response to recent U.S. military maneuvers and naval deployments in the region, Iran has announced it will conduct live-fire military exercises in the strategic Strait of Hormuz this weekend, sharply escalating tensions in the vital waterway.
According to reports from foreign media, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), closing airspace over parts of the strait. The NOTAM prohibits all flights below 25,000 feet from January 27 to 29, a standard precaution for live-fire drills. Iranian officials stated the exercises will be held within a 9-kilometer range.
The war games come on the heels of major U.S.-led naval exercises in the Middle East and the arrival of additional American warships, a buildup Tehran views as provocative. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iran’s powerful military branch, issued a stark warning accompanying the exercise announcement.
In a sharply worded statement, the IRGC warned it would attack any U.S. ships that enter Iranian territorial waters. “The U.S. president talks a lot, while the decision of the war will be made on the field,” the statement declared, underscoring a readiness for direct confrontation.
The Strait of Hormuz is a global energy chokepoint through which about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes. Iranian naval and IRGC exercises in the area are a recurring demonstration of Tehran’s capability to threaten maritime traffic, a card it has played during previous periods of heightened friction with the West. The latest drills signal Iran’s intent to respond forcefully to perceived U.S. pressure, raising the risk of a tactical miscalculation that could spark a broader conflict.
