Two Omani Warships to Dock in Bandar Abbas

Two Omani warships will dock at the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on Tuesday on the occasion of the 14th biannual friendship conference between the two nations in Tehran. The Omani armada is accompanied by a helicopter that will land in Bandar Abbas–a southern port city which has a strategic position on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, and is home to the main Iranian Navy base, Mehr News Agency reported. The friendship conference is held every two years in Tehran and Muscat. On Saturday, General Qadir Nezami, deputy chairman of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces in charge of international affairs, told reporters that joint naval drills will be held in the coming days to increase the combat preparedness of the two forces. Oman and Iran have traditionally enjoyed cordial ties both before and after the 1979 revolution in Iran.