Iran, Oman Start 11th Joint Military Committee Meeting

(FNA)- High-ranking Iranian and Omani commanders kicked off the 11th meeting of their Joint Military Friendship Committee in Masqat on Monday.

The meeting is jointly headed by Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Operational Affairs Brigadier General Mostafa Salami and Assistant Chief of Staff of Oman's Armed Forces Rashed Bin Seif Bin Al-Rashidi and participated by other high-ranking Iranian and Omani commanders.

The meeting between the high ranking military officials of Iran and Oman in Masqat aims to discuss ways of expanding regional and trans-regional relations and reinforcing mutual cooperation in different fields, including training, culture, and protection of sea borders.

During the meeting, the two sides expressed the hope that the military cooperation and relations between Tehran and Masqat would further develop.

They also discussed logistical support for the Iranian fleets of warships which need Oman's port support and services, joint drills, specially in relief and rescue fields, and reciprocal visits by the two countries' commanders and forces.

The meeting is being held concurrently with the joint relief and rescue exercises underway by the two countries' navies in the Sea of Oman.

In relevant remarks in March, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari stressed his forces' capability to conduct joint exercises with friendly states, adding that the Navy plans to stage joint wargames with Oman's Navy in Iran's Persian Gulf waters early in April.

Speaking on the sidelines of an exhibition of the scientific and technological achievements of Iran’s Navy in the Northern city of Noshahr, Rear Admiral Sayyari said that the three-day maritime joint maneuver with Oman is scheduled to be held on April 7, 2014.

Also in March, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a meeting with Omani Sultan Qaboos in Masqat hailed the good and friendly relations between the two countries, saying the Tehran-Masqat ties set a role-model for other nations.

“Iran-Oman relations set an example of good neighborly ties between two countries,” President Rouhani said during the meeting in the Omani capital.

The Iranian president and the king of Oman stressed development of relations between the two countries in all fields, including energy, shipping, customs affairs, financial issues, environment, tourism and maintaining security of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underlined that they attach great importance to the consolidation of Tehran's relations with the Middle-East countries, specially with the Persian Gulf littoral states, in order to protect and promote peace and security in the region.