Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif maintained that Iran’s trilateral drill with Russia and China "shows that Iran is willing to cooperate [with other countries] to ensure the security and the free passage of maritime traffic in the important international waterway of Hormuz". A senior Iranian navy official asserted that “the friends of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the region will be very happy with this move but those who seek to impose undesirable security arrangements, such as the Americans and their sidekicks, will receive a highly significant message from this drill”. “The era of inroads by the Americans in the region has ended and they have to gradually leave the region”, he added. The official further stressed that “the countries of the region can help establish security together and we hope that other countries will join us in the future”.