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Iran contemplates naval alliance with Gulf states, Pakistan and India to ensure regional stability

Iran contemplates naval alliance with Gulf states, Pakistan and India to ensure regional stability
A handout photo made available by the Iranian Army office on February 16, 2021, shows the Iranian navy frigate Jamaran (76, bottom) taking part in a joint naval drill in the northern Indian Ocean. (Photo courtesy: AFP/File)
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Updated 03 June 2023

Iran contemplates naval alliance with Gulf states, Pakistan and India to ensure regional stability

Iran contemplates naval alliance with Gulf states, Pakistan and India to ensure regional stability
  • Iranian official says regional states have realized only cooperation with each other will bring security to the area
  • Iran is yet to elaborate the shape of the alliance which may also include Ƶ and the United Arab Emirates

DUBAI: Iran’s navy commander said his country and Ƶ, as well as three other Gulf states, plan to form a naval alliance that will also include India and Pakistan, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

“The countries of the region have today realized that only cooperation with each other brings security to the area,” Iran’s navy commander Shahram Irani was quoted as saying.

He did not elaborate on the shape of the alliance that he said would be formed soon.

Iran has recently been trying to mend its strained ties with several Gulf Arab states.

In March, Ƶ and Iran ended seven years of hostility under a China-mediated deal, stressing the need for regional stability and economic cooperation.

Naval commander Irani said the states that will take part in the alliance also include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Pakistan, and India.

Ƶ’s rapprochement with Iran has frustrated Israel’s efforts to isolate Iran diplomatically.

The UAE, which was the first Gulf Arab country to sign a normalization agreement with Israel in 2020, resumed formal relations with Iran last year.

Bahrain and Morocco later joined the UAE in establishing ties with Israel.