The Iranian Navy is hosting the IONS Maritime Exercise (IMEX) 2024, which includes military forces from the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, the Iranian Police’s Coastguard, Russia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Qatar and Bangladesh.
Rear Admiral Mostafa Tajeddini, the spokesperson for the exercise, stated that the naval forces practice a range of operations in the drill, including maritime firefighting, search operations, and oil spill prevention, control, and countermeasure (SPCC).
The theme of the drill is “Together for A Safe and Secure Indian Ocean”.
The purpose of the drill is to strengthen collective security in the region, promote multilateral cooperation, and display the goodwill and capabilities to safeguard peace, friendship and maritime security.
The IONS is a voluntary initiative that seeks to increase maritime co-operation among navies of the littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region by providing an open and inclusive forum for discussion of regionally relevant maritime issues.
