U.S. General: 'Iran's drill in the Gulf meant to send a message'

The general overseeing U.S. military operations in the Middle East said Wednesday that an Iranian naval exercise around the Strait of Hormuz was meant to send a message to Washington before it reimposed sanctions on Tehran, AFP reported.

Iran launched the exercise in the Gulf last week, sending dozens of small attack boats out into the Strait of Hormuz, a vital, oil-shipping waterway that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last month threatened to shut down.