Iran's Revolutionary Guards navy held a drill in the Hormuz Strait on Monday (February 16), to test the readiness of the guards' naval units to protect the waterway, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Monday (February 16), a day prior to renewed Iran-U.S. nuclear negotiations.

Iranian media showed the naval exercises on state television, overseen by IRGC Ground Forces Commander, General Mohammad Pakpour. The Strait of Hormuz is a vital international waterway and oil export route from Gulf Arab states, who have been appealing for diplomacy to end the dispute.

Washington, which joined Israel in a wave of air strikes on Iran in June, has ordered a second aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East in the latest standoff with Tehran, in addition to other U.S. warships and aircraft that have already been deployed.

"Intelligently utilizing the geopolitical advantages of the Islamic Republic in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are among the main objectives of this exercise," Tasnim said of Iran's drill.

Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation against any attack, which would choke a fifth of global oil flows and send crude prices sharply higher.

The waterway connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

Also on Monday Iran's foreign minister met with the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief in Geneva, ahead of talks between Washington and Tehran aimed at resolving a decades-long nuclear dispute.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said he was in Geneva to "achieve a fair and equitable deal".

"What is not on the table: submission before threats," Araqchi said on X.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SHOWS: AT SEA (UNKNOWN DATE) (POOL VIA WANA - No use Iran International. No use BBC Persian. No use VOA Persian. No use Manoto. No use Radio Farda.) (WITH FARSI NARRATION)

1. VARIOUS OF MILITARY BOATS MOVING ACROSS WATER

UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (UNKNOWN DATE) (POOL VIA WANA - No use Iran International. No use BBC Persian. No use VOA Persian. No use Manoto. No use Radio Farda.) (WITH FARSI NARRATION/BLURRING AT SOURCE)

2. ISLAMIC REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS (IRGC) GROUND FORCES COMMANDER, GENERAL MOHAMMAD PAKPOUR

3. MISSILE BEING LAUNCHED

FROM AIR (UNKNOWN DATE) (POOL VIA WANA - No use Iran International. No use BBC Persian. No use VOA Persian. No use Manoto. No use Radio Farda.) (WITH FARSI NARRATION)

4. AERIAL VIEW OF SHIP BEING HIT BY MISSILE

5. PAKPOUR LOOKING OUT AIRCRAFT WINDOW

6. AERIAL FOOTAGE OF ISLAND

7. PAKPOUR LOOKING OUT AIRCRAFT WINDOW

8. AERIAL FOOTAGE OF ISLAND

9. PAKPOUR IN AIRCRAFT

10. AERIAL FOOTAGE OF ISLAND

UNIDENTIFIED LOCATION (UNKNOWN DATE) (POOL VIA WANA - No use Iran International. No use BBC Persian. No use VOA Persian. No use Manoto. No use Radio Farda.) (WITH FARSI NARRATION/BLURRING AT SOURCE)

11. PAKPOUR AND OTHER OFFICIALS LEAVING AIRCRAFT

13. VARIOUS OF PAKPOUR AND OFFICIALS WALKING

14. PAKPOUR GREETING OFFICIALS

15. PAKPOUR AND OFFICIALS WALKING

16. PAKPOUR AND OFFICIALS LOOKING OUT TO WATER

FROM AIR (UNKNOWN DATE) (POOL VIA WANA - No use Iran International. No use BBC Persian. No use VOA Persian. No use Manoto. No use Radio Farda.) (WITH FARSI NARRATION)

17. AERIAL FOOTAGE OF ISLAND