Iran Tests Some Of Its Latest Missiles And Drones In Hormuz Amid Progress In Talks With U.S. (Videos)

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The naval forces of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) tested some of its latest missiles and drones during the ongoing drills in the strategic Hormuz Strait on February 17, as senior officials from the Islamic Republic held a second round of nuclear talks with United States diplomats.

The guards’ navy kicked off the drills in the Hormuz Strait a day earlier, with the aim of practicing “smart control” of the strategic waterway.

The Strait of Hormuz is crucial to the global energy market. Approximately one-fifth of the world’s daily oil consumption and a significant portion of liquefied natural gas transit through this narrow waterway.

During the second day of the drills, parts of the waterway were closed due to “security precautions” for shipping safety, the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency reported.

A separate report by the semi-official Tasnim News Agency said that the IRGC Navy’s “super-fast missile-launching vessels” conducted missile combat operations, with missiles fired from inland areas, as well as from Iranian coasts and islands in the Persian Gulf, striking their targets in the Strait of Hormuz.

Drone units likewise practiced operations using offensive and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles in signal-jamming environments, accurately hitting both fixed and moving targets, according to the news agency.

Videos released by Fars and other Iranian outlets provided some more details. The footage shows the launch of a Sayyad-3N anti-aircraft missile from IRGC Navy Shahid Soleimani-class corvette “Shahid Sayad Shirazi”. The range of the radar-guided missile is reported to be between 150 and 200 kilometers.

The footage also shows what appears to be Raad-2 loitering munitions being launched from ground and speed boats. These loitering munitions, which are equipped with optical guidance systems, have a range of 20 kilometers, and an endurance of 20 minutes.

In addition, the footage shows the IRGC Navy tested the latest Ghaem-118 drone interceptor. The system is guided via thermal imaging and has a range of up to 25 kilometers.

Commenting on the drills, Commander of IRGC Navy Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri stated that Iran is prepared to close the Strait of Hormuz whenever instructed by the country’s senior authorities.

The commander said that as a soldier, he declares that they are ready to carry out the task whenever their superiors order it. He added that the weapons brought into the field in wartime differ from those displayed during military exercises.

Another threat came from Supreme Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who said that U.S. President Donald Trump will not succeed in destroying the Islamic Republic.

Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran with military action since last month over a wave of protests that turned deadly. He even went as far as ordering two aircraft carrier strike groups into the Middle East, as a part of a wider U.S. military buildup.

“In one of his recent speeches, the U.S. president said that for 47 years America has not succeeded in destroying the Islamic Republic… I tell you: You will not succeed either,” said Khamenei in a speech.

“We constantly hear that [the U.S.] has sent a warship toward Iran. A warship is certainly a dangerous weapon, but even more dangerous is the weapon capable of sinking it,” he added.

Amid this escalation, an Iranian delegation led by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a second round of nuclear talks with U.S. representatives, headed by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, in Geneva. The results were described as positive.

Araghchi said that Iran and the U.S. reached an understanding on the main “guiding principles” of a new nuclear agreement, and spoke of a “window of opportunity.” He, however, later warned that Washington should immediately desist from threatening the use of force against Tehran.

An American official later told Reuters that Iran said it would make detailed proposals in the next two weeks to close gaps in talks with the U.S.

“Progress was made, but there are still a lot of details to discuss,” said the official, who declined to be identified, detailing discussions in Geneva. “The Iranians said they would come back in the next two weeks with detailed proposals to address some of the open gaps in our positions.”

Despite this positivity, Iran will likely keep its finger on the trigger. The ongoing drills in the Hormuz Strait are a sign that the Islamic Republic is not letting its guards down..

Similar progress was reported in the Iranian-American indirect nuclear talks that was taking place ahead of the Israeli attack on Iran last June. The attack led to a 12-day war, which saw the U.S. joining in and bombing three key Iranian nuclear facilities.

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