Iranian media are reporting that the country's army has begun a large-scale exercise in the south of the country.
General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, chief of the Iranian army's ground forces, told state television on December 25 that the exercises are aimed at "transferring experiences" to younger generations of Iran’s soldiers.
The seven-day exercise, titled “Mohammad Rosulollah” (eds. Mohammad the Messenger of Allah), will involve the army, the navy, and the air force, and will be carried out near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian military officials have said the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Basij paramilitary militia also will participate.
The initial part of the drill includes exercises by ground units on December 25-26.