Iran’s IRGC Navy will launch a two day exercise on Thursday in the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Oman Sea and around the country’s southern islands, state media said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a key waterway where Iranian officials have at times warned they could restrict traffic during periods of tension.

The IRGC Navy public relations office said the drill is named after Mohammad Nazeri, a commander and founder of the IRGC Navy’s special forces unit who was killed in 2016, and will run for two days.

File photo of Iranian taekwondo athlete Rozhan Goudarzi competing at a domestic tournament in Iran.

Earlier this week, Iran began Sahand-2025, a five-day Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) counter-terrorism drill led by IRGC Ground Forces around Shabestar near Tabriz in East Azarbaijan province.

Designed by Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff with input from the foreign ministry and the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure, the exercise targets the bloc’s “Three Evils” – terrorism, separatism and extremism.