Kovali Kali | Slambook | Shruti Marathe, Shantanu Rangnekar, Ritika Shotri & Supriya Pathare

Is Russia secretly helping Iran in blocking the Strait of Hormuz? Russia has staged a fresh display of naval power as tensions rise across the Middle East. In the icy waters of the Avacha Gulf in the Pacific, Russia’s Pacific Fleet carried out a high-alert military drill featuring the anti-submarine warship MPK-107. During the exercise, the crew detected a mock enemy drone approaching its base and swiftly responded using the ship’s Osa-M2 anti-aircraft missile system, successfully destroying the simulated threat. The drill comes at a time of escalating confrontation involving Iran, the United States and Israel, with global attention focused on the critical oil route through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply. Speculation is also mounting over whether Moscow could be quietly backing Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, amid the growing crisis.