Newsweek:

A leading Iranian military official revealed new details about his country's first-ever trilateral exercise with major powers Russia and China, claiming Iran's ships would also soon traverse the Atlantic Ocean toward the Americas.

Speaking to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, Iran's deputy army chief for coordination, said Wednesday that the Islamic Republic's warships would defy a "12,000-mile line" drawn by "hegemonic powers" by entering the Atlantic Ocean. He said Iranian vessels have previously done so by circling around Africa and the navy intended to "once again have a presence across the Atlantic Ocean, free to sail as far forward as international maritime law permits."

Sayyari said he could not provide a specific date for such a move, but revealed when another major naval action would take place—the Naval Security Belt drills alongside Russia and China. The maneuvers were set for December 27 and Sayyari offered further information last week.

"The starting point of the exercise, which is being held with the presence of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Naval Forces and the Russian and Chinese Navy, is the Third Naval Area in Konarak," he told Tasnim, referring to the southeastern port city where Western eyes would surely soon be watching Tehran's attempt to court two top Eastern powers amid overlapping geopolitical rivalries.

Iran has sought to accelerate its naval activities as the United States has attempted to isolate it economically and politically through sanctions imposed since President Donald Trump's exit last year from a 2015 multilateral nuclear deal. The deal's other signatories—China, the European Union, France, Germany and Russia—continued to back the agreement, but Europe has struggled to live up to its end of the agreement in the face of U.S. pressure, leading Iran to reduce its own commitments.

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