Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a series of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, according to state media, on the eve of talks with the United States, AFP reported.
State television said the drills – the duration of which was not specified – are aimed at preparing the Guards for “potential security and military threats” in the strategic waterway following the deployment of a large US naval force in the region, the report said.
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Hard-line Iranian politicians have repeatedly threatened to block the strait, especially during times of heightened tensions with the United States, but it has never been closed.
This handout photo released by the official Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) website Sepanews on February 16, 2026 shows a vehicle firing a missile during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and the Navy in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a series of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on February 16, state media reported, on the eve of talks with the United States. (Photo: SEPAH NEWS / AFP) (AFP)
According to the International Energy Agency AFP, around a quarter of all oil transported by sea and a fifth of the world’s liquefied natural gas pass through the strait.
The exercises, overseen by Guards Commander General Mohammad Pakpour, are intended to strengthen the IRGC’s ability to respond quickly, according to Iranian media. The Guards serve as the ideological branch of Iran’s armed forces, AFP reported.
The Guards launched the exercise from Abu Musa Island – Iran’s southernmost territorial point – and Pakpour said the force had built a “strong stronghold all over the island”, according to state television.
The report said that island forces in the Persian Gulf can operate without land support, with missiles capable of “destroying enemy destroyers within a radius of 1,000 kilometers”.
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It also released a blurry video of the drone, while keeping operational specifics under wraps.
The exercises took place as Tehran and Washington prepared for a new round of talks in Geneva on Tuesday, with Oman acting as a mediator. They are also occurring at a time of significant build-up of US military forces in the region.
This handout photo released by the official Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) website Sepanews on February 16, 2026 shows a vehicle firing a missile during a military exercise by members of the IRGC and the Navy in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a series of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on February 16, state media reported, on the eve of talks with the United States. (Photo: SEPAH NEWS / AFP)(AFP)
The decades-old adversaries resumed talks on February 6 in Oman, their first since a diplomatic breakdown last June when Israel triggered a 12-day war with surprise strikes on Iran, which the United States briefly joined to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
US President Donald Trump has been pressing Iran to reach a deal, particularly with the recent deployment of US naval forces in the region, which he has described as an “army”.
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After sending the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and accompanying battleships to the Gulf in January, Trump said on Friday that a second supercarrier, the Gerald R. Ford, would depart “very soon” for the Middle East.
On Monday, IRGC Navy official Mohammad Akbarzadeh warned that all foreign ships in the region were “under full intelligence surveillance and within range of our defense force.”
“The armed forces are fully prepared, monitor the enemy’s movements and never ignore threats,” state news agency IRNA said.