By Fariba Raad | 2025-03-19

The Islamic Republic joined China and Russia for high-profile naval exercises in the Gulf of Oman that heightened regional tensions while fueling domestic outrage over Tehran's military spending at a time of economic crisis.

"Maritime Security Belt 2025," which kicked off March 11, brought together warships and combat vessels from the three nations near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vessels joined two Russian corvettes, a Pacific Fleet tanker and a Chinese destroyer and supply ship, according to their respective defense ministries.

While Iranian state media trumpeted the military collaboration, analysts downplayed its strategic significance.

"This drill was mainly focused on maritime accident response, including firefighting, search and rescue and counter-piracy operations for civilian shipping," Berlin-based Iranian analyst Babak Taghvaee told Pishtaz.

But the Iranian regime "deliberately used it for political propaganda," he said.

The exercises spotlight Tehran's focus on its foreign agenda: strengthening its alliance with Moscow, which it has supplied with drones used in its war with Ukraine, and Beijing, which has been a major buyer of sanctioned Iranian oil.

Mounting economic crisis

While many Iranians struggle to meet basic needs, public frustration is mounting over the regime's prioritization of military spending over citizens' welfare.

According to the regime's Chamber of Commerce Research Center, nearly 32 million Iranians lived below the food poverty line as of early 2022, Iran Wire reported.

Between 22 and 27% of Iran's population cannot afford basic necessities, according to Labor and Social Security Institute head Ebrahim Sadeghi-Far, who presented the alarming statistics at a January 5 meeting.

"Today, poverty in Iran is not a marginal issue; it has become an undeniable reality affecting a large portion of society," he said.

The Iranian rial has lost 90% of its value against the US dollar since 2018, fueling soaring inflation and severely eroding purchasing power.

In September, Tehran-based Donya-e-Eqtesad newspaper reported that a three-person household in Tehran needs at least 200 million rials (approximately $247) monthly to survive.

"We are not poor because of circumstances beyond our control," said Ardeshir, 30, who holds a doctorate in civil engineering but now works as a garbage collector earning the equivalent of $3.50 daily.

"Over the past 40 years, the clerical establishment has systematically driven a once prosperous country to the brink of bankruptcy," he told Pishtaz, asking that his full name be withheld out of concern for his security.

"And now, with barely anything left in the state coffers, they're staging grand military exercises," he added. "To impress whom?"