TÜRKİYE ORTA ASYA HABER KKUORDİNATÖRÜ

TWZ: NEWS Russia, China, and Iran are beginning joint military exercises; is this a show of force against Trump? Turkey should also think very carefully about this. As the US shifts its military presence to the Middle East, including the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group (CSG), Iran, China, and Russia are regularly conducting joint naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian media. Moscow and Tehran consider the 2026 Maritime Security Belt exercise particularly significant in the context of current events, and there are reasons why the White House and the Pentagon should not disregard it. The absence of Russian or Chinese warships in these waters during a potential US attack on Iran could have military and political consequences that planners need to address. At the same time, the ongoing US military buildup and the timing of the exercises suggest that this will create a message rather than an impact. First held in 2019, the exercise is taking place in Bandar Abbas, a port city on the Strait of Hormuz in Iran. According to Iran’s state Mehr news agency, Russian, Chinese, and Iranian naval forces are expected to participate with various ships and sustained capabilities to “test coordinated tactical preparation and rapid response procedures in the Strait of Hormuz.” The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) declined to comment on the exercise. On Wednesday, as Iranian and Russian forces met aboard the Russian corvette Stoiky, a senior Iranian official issued a new threat against the increasing U.S. Navy presence in the area, including the Abraham Lincoln CSG and at least eight other surface warships. MarineTraffic ship tracking, according to the history of web access, indicated that the Ford vessel could reach the area within four or five days. The Navy stated the ship is currently in the Atlantic Ocean. Iranian Navy Chief Rear Admiral Shahram Irani warned, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has faced threats, noise, propaganda, and the presence of non-regional fleets in West Asia for 47 years. The presence of non-regional fleets in West Asia is unjust.” He added, “If the region thinks that a foreign fleet power is coming, parts of Iran can be expanded by being met with a greater force. The people’s faith and missiles are the deterrent weapons of the Islamic Republic of Iran against the enemy.” Nikolai Patrushev, a senior advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, described the exercise as part of a larger struggle between the US and the BRICS alliance, an informal group of 21 countries including Russia, China, and Iran. Patrushev also targeted ongoing tensions between Washington and Tehran, as well as US and NATO efforts to seize Russian oil tankers.