DUBAI, July 22. /TASS/. A maritime security exercise involving Iranian combat ships and a Russian naval ship kicked off in Iran’s territorial waters in the Caspian Sea, spokesman for the drills Captain 1st Rank Abbas Hassani reported on Monday.

"The maneuvers will involve both naval ships and naval aircraft, including the guided-missile destroyers Darafsh, Separ and Paykan, two AB-212 helicopters, the ship Shahid Basir from the Navy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC, Iran’s elite armed forces]. Also, the Russian ship SB-45 has recently entered Iran’s territorial waters and will take part [in the drills]," the news agency Tasnim quoted the spokesman as saying.

Representatives of Caspian littoral states are present at the naval drills as observers, the spokesman said.

The first stage of the drills took place on Monday when the navies of Iran and Russia practiced extinguishing fire on a merchant vessel, rescue people in distress and eliminate consequences under a scenario prepared in advance, the spokesman said.

The Iranian news agency Fars reported on July 21 that the Russian tug vessel SB-45 had entered Iran’s territorial waters in the Caspian Sea to participate in the rescue and maritime security drills.