Tehran, Oct 19 (IANS): The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) Maritime Exercise (IMEX) 2024 kicked off on Saturday in Iran's southern waters, the official news agency IRNA reported.

Russia and Oman have sent their flotillas of warships to take part in the joint drill along with the forces of the Iranian Navy and the Navy of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as well as the country's coastguards, according to the IRNA.

The report said Saudi Arabia, India, Thailand, Pakistan, Qatar and Bangladesh had also sent their representatives to take part in the exercise as observers, Xinhua news agency reported.

Speaking at a press conference in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, spokesman of the drill, Mostafa Tajeddini, said the participating vessels and units would enact different scenarios, including containing fire, carrying out search and rescue operations and removing oil from the sea surface during the drill.

He added several specialized meetings and workshops would also be held during the exercise.

Tajeddini said the drill's message was "peace, friendship, solidarity and collective cooperation."

According to the IRNA, the IMEX 2024 joint naval exercise aims to ensure sustainable collective security and expand multilateral cooperation among the participating countries to safeguard peace in the region.