MOSCOW- Russia's Pacific Fleet announced on Tuesday that it plans to hold a joint Russian-Iranian-Chinese naval exercise.

The statement said that the Russian naval delegation will attend a conference on the occasion of the Iran-Russia-China trilateral exercise.
 
The Russian Pacific Fleet press office said in a statement: "The Russian fleet will be present during the exercise in the maritime borders of several countries in the region."
 
The Russian Pacific Fleet left the port of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East in late December 2021.
 
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also reminded in a note to Russia's Sputnik news agency today that in the field of defense and law enforcement, relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation are growing. The joint exercise of Iran, Russia and China in the North Indian Ocean and the Sea of ​​Oman shows the seriousness of the three countries.
 
Russian Ambassador to Tehran Levan Dzhagaryan also stated that the main purpose of the Iran-Russia-China trilateral naval exercise was to ensure international shipping security and the fight against piracy.
 
  In an interview with Sputnik news agency, the senior Russian diplomat noted that a joint exercise of the three countries will be held in the Persian Gulf. 
 
For the first time, Iran, Russia and China held a joint naval exercise in January 2019 that lasted four days and covered part of the northern Indian Ocean.
 
During the exercise, Russian, Iranian and Chinese sailors practiced scenarios for searching for and releasing ships captured by pirates, conducting joint maneuvers, assisting ships in times of danger, and counter-terrorism operations.
 
The exercise was Iran's first joint exercise with other countries since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, and media reports about the exercise noted that the countries that are closest to each other economically, politically, socially, defense and security join hand in hand to make it possible to establish security and its collectiveness.