For more stories from The Media Line go to themedialine.org Iranian Navy Deputy Operations Commander Admiral Mustafa Tajaldini described the primary goal of the exercise as strengthening naval cooperation and securing major maritime routes.

China, Iran and Russia conducted joint naval drills Tuesday in the Middle East, offering a show of force in a region still uneasy over Tehran's rapidly expanding nuclear program and as Yemen's Houthi rebels threaten new attacks on ships.

TEHRAN, Iran -- China, Iran and Russia conducted joint naval drills Tuesday in the Middle East, offering a show of force in a region still uneasy over Tehran's rapidly expanding nuclear program and as Yemen's Houthi rebels threaten new attacks on ships.

China, Iran and Russia have conducted joint naval drills in the Middle East. Called the Maritime Security Belt 2025, the exercises took place in the Gulf of Oman near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all crude oil traded worldwide passes.