Tehran, Nov 5 (IANS): The Iranian and Azerbaijani naval forces staged a joint rescue and relief drill in the Caspian Sea, Iran's official news agency reported.

The exercise, dubbed "AZIREX2024," was hosted by Iran's Navy and themed "Cooperation for Peace and Friendship," reports Xinhua news agency, quoting IRNA on Monday.

It added the drill involved the Iranian army's maritime and aerial units, including homegrown Deylaman destroyer, Peykan (Arrow), Separ (Shield), Joshan (Armor) guided-missile cruisers, a Bell 212 helicopter, and watercraft belonging to other Iranian armed forces, as well as Azerbaijan's rescue and relief vessels.

Mohsen Razzaqi, spokesman of the exercise, said the two countries' vessels successfully carried out rescue and relief operations, having transferred passengers from a burning watercraft to the coast and extinguished the fire.

He added that the other operations carried out during the exercise were aerial photography, conformation simulation, and tactical arrayal scenarios.

He stressed that Iran attached great importance to ensuring security at the regional and international levels, assuring that the Iranian naval forces would not allow any aggression against the country from sea.