Iranian ships participate in a naval parade on the last day of the Velayat-90 war game on the Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran January 3, 2012. (Reuters File photo)

TEHRAN, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Iranian and Russian forces will stage a naval drill in the Gulf later this year, the commander of Iran's Navy was quoted as saying by Press TV on Monday.

Iran and Russia have negotiated over the technical and operational details of the joint naval exercise in prospect, said Hossein Khanzadi.

The Iranian Navy commander said earlier that military collaboration with Russia "will surely take us to a new level of cooperation in strategic, tactical, and operational areas at sea."

Iran and Russia have held joint naval exercises in the Caspian Sea in the past years.