International Desk //

Amid the growing US military presence in the Middle East, Iran has begun a three-day live-fire drill by partially closing the airspace over the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

The drill, which began on Tuesday (January 27) and will continue until Thursday (January 29). A special notice of approach (NOTAM) issued by Iranian authorities has banned all civil and military flights within a radius of 5 nautical miles from the surface to an altitude of 25,000 feet.

The importance of the Strait of Hormuz in the world’s oil market is immense. Millions of barrels of crude oil are transported through this route every day, so any military activity here has an impact on global stability.

Iran is conducting the drills at a time when the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers are stationed in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump, at an event in Iowa, indicated that the US fleet is moving towards Iran, saying that he is sending a “beautiful fleet” towards Iran and is hopeful that a compromise will eventually be reached.

The Pentagon has already strengthened fighter jets and air defense systems in the region. On the other hand, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that any attack on Iran from a neighboring country will be considered direct hostility.

Top Iranian officials have made it clear that they will consider any attack, small or large, as a “full-scale war” and will respond in the strongest possible terms. Amid the tensions, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have assured Tehran that their airspace or land will not be allowed to be used for any military operation against Iran.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is monitoring the situation. He warned that if Iran attacks Israel, it will respond with a force it has never seen before. He also made it clear that Israel will make its own decisions about its own security and counterattacks, without waiting for Trump’s decision.

The Middle East is currently going through an extremely tense situation with these opposing positions of the two sides.

Source: Samaa TV.

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