A Pakistani naval flotilla that has docked at Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas is going to attend a joint military exercise with Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf.

EghtesadOnline: The presence of foreign military forces in the sensitive Persian Gulf is unconstructive, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said following France's declaration this week that the military component of its maritime surveillance and security mission in the Strait of Hormuz is fully operational.

EghtesadOnline: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for increased cooperation between Tehran and Muscat to maintain the security of the strategic waterway shared by the two countries.

EghtesadOnline: The International Energy Agency is "significantly" concerned about geopolitical tensions, including in the Strait of Hormuz, but oil markets are currently well supplied and unlikely to see "huge price increases for now," the head of the agency said Friday.

EghtesadOnline: In response to the United States' hostile move to block Iran’s crude exports, closing the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategic oil chokepoints, is unnecessary despite Tehran's ability to disrupt passage through the channel, an analyst said.