TEHRAN – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed on Sunday it had held wargames in the Gulf over the past several days, saying they were aimed at“confronting possible threats” by enemies, the state news state news agencyIRNA reported.

United States believed Iran had started carrying out naval exercises in theGulf, apparently moving up the timing of annual drills amid heightenedtensions with Washington.

“This exercise was conducted with the aim of controlling and safeguardingthe safety of the international waterway and within the framework of theprogramme of the Guards’ annual military exercises,” Guards spokesmanRamezan Sharif said, according to IRNA.

The US military’s Central Command on Wednesday confirmed it has seenincreased Iranian naval activity. The activity extended to the Strait ofHormuz, a strategic waterway for oil shipments the Revolutionary Guardshave threatened to block.