Iranian media reports that senior military officials are planning further drills for February.

Revolutionary Guards Naval Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said that The Elite Corps' Navy plans to hold a large-scale military manouver in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz in February.

And Iranian Army Commander Brigadier General Ahmad- Reza Pourdastan said separate drills - also planned for february - would be conducted by ground forces. He said that new tactics would be employed in the training - pointing to new military hardware. And added that the military needs to increase its capacity to confront new threats.

The country already held one 10-day exercise in the Gulf ending on January 2nd. And on Monday, The Iranian IRIB television channel showed video of Iranian Revolutionary Guards troops participating in a separate military manoeuvre near the country's border with Afghanistan.

Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Revolutionary Guards' ground forces, said the "Martyrs of Unity" exercises near Khvat, 60 km from Afghanistan, were "aimed at boosting security along the Iranian borders."

Tensions have been growing in recent days as the country warned Washington not to send an aircraft carrier back into the Gulf and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz - a crucial shipping link for middle-eastern oil.

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