TEHRAN, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iranian army launched a large-scale war game in the southern coasts and the Sea of Oman on Monday, state IRIB TV reported.
According to the report, Iran's navy, ground force, the air force and the air defense unit have participated in the drill.
The military drill, code-named Muhammad Rasulullah-5, covers a vast area, including all of the Makran coasts and the Sea of Oman.
The objective behind the drill is to promote the capabilities of the army forces and convey the message of peace and friendship to other regional countries, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said.
During the first day of the war game, combat choppers of the army ground force airborne division opened heavy fire on the hypothetical enemy's naval vessels approaching the coast, Tasnim news agency reported.
In the meantime, the report said that Iranian military aircraft gave warning to two foreign warships near the country's southern waters on Monday, forcing the vessels to leave the zone of an ongoing war game.
In the early hours of the exercise on Monday, two warships belonging to the "coalition forces" approached the drill zone to monitor the Iranian navy units, ranking Army Commander and spokesperson for the war game, Rear Admiral Lower Half Mahmoud Mousavi said.
After army drones detected the two intruding vessels, Iranian patrolling and reconnaissance aircraft flew over the coalition warships, gave them warnings and forced them to leave the drill zone.
