PRETORIA, January 16. /TASS/. BRICS countries and their partners concluded a naval drill in the territorial waters of South Africa off the southern continent, SABC radio reported.

The program of the Will for Peace exercise that began in the southern Atlantic near the Cape of Good Hope on January 9 is over, the radio said. Warships from China, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa as well as the Russian Navy corvette Stoikiy and the Baltic Fleet’s medium sea tanker Yelnya had arrived to take part. Egypt, Indonesia and Ethiopia participated as observers. Operational command of the drill was carried out by the Chinese Navy.

The drills came with a special focus on Iran. South Africa’s News 24 reported that last weekend Pretoria requested that Tehran withdraw its ships from the naval drill and participate as observers following diplomatic discussions. Iran accepted the request from South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, but two days later Iranian vessels went out to sea jointly with the other participants, the news portal said. A commission was established by decision from South African Defense and Veterans Minister Angie Motskhega to investigate how accurately Ramaphosa’s instructions regarding the participation of Iranian warships in the BRICS naval drills were implemented.

The Will for Peace maneuvers were held for the first time. Original plans envisaged holding the third Mosi naval exercise with the participation of China, Russia and South Africa in November 2025. However, a decision was made later to expand the exercise, held regularly since 2019, by inviting BRICS countries and their partners and giving it a new name.