Iran’s Navy Chief Pushes for Expanded Naval Cooperation at MILAN 2026

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani held a series of high-level meetings aimed at enhancing bilateral and multilateral naval cooperation on the sidelines of the MILAN 2026 international naval exercise in India.

News ID: 2002768

Rear Admiral Irani held separate meetings with Commander of Myanmar’s Navy Admiral Htein Win, Commander of the Russian Navy Aleksandr Alekseyevich Moiseyev, and Chief of Staff of the Royal Saudi Naval Forces Lieutenant General Mohammad Bin Abdulrahman Bin Hamed Al-Gharibi, to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation in the maritime domain.

In the meetings, the senior commanders emphasized the strategic role of seas in economic development and sustainable security, underlining the need to expand professional interactions among navies, exchange training delegations, conduct joint exercises, and make use of each other’s technical and operational capacities.

Issues such as combating piracy, ensuring the security of maritime communication lines, maritime search and rescue, and the management of maritime crises were also among the main topics of discussion.

Referring to Iran’s approach in supporting collective security and regional cooperation, the Iranian Navy commander described multinational exercises as a suitable platform for confidence-building, enhancing operational coordination, and exchanging experiences among countries.

Exercise MILAN 2026 is the 13th edition of the Indian Navy's biennial multilateral naval exercise, held in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This year’s event also coincides with the International Fleet Review (IFR) and the IONS Conclave with over 72 participating nations and more than 60 warships./tasnim