Other countries are also taking part in the "Security Bond-2023" exercises [15-19 Mar], the ministry said without giving details. Iran, Pakistan, Oman[,] and the United Arab Emirates [UAE] all have coastline along the waterbody l[a]ying at the mouth of the strategic Persian Gulf.

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Wednesday that the White House was not concerned by the joint training exercise. Kirby said the U.S. and other nations conduct training exercises all the time and this won't be the first time that the Russians and Chinese have trained together.

"We're going to watch it, we'll monitor it, obviously, to make sure that there's no threat resulting from this training exercise to our national security interests or those of our allies and partners in the region," Kirby said on CNN. "But nations train. We do it all the time. We'll watch it as best we can."
[...]
While the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have long-standing military and political ties [!], relations have frayed over the 2018 killing of U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the kingdom's leadership, and cuts in production by the OPEC+ oil cartel [!] that the administration said was helping Russia.

saudigazette | Prince Abdulaziz warns from imposing price cap on Saudi oil exports (14.03.23)
"He said: 'if a price cap were to be imposed on Saudi oil exports, we will not sell oil to any country that imposes a price cap on our supply.'"

China's hosting of the Iran-Saudi talks placed it in the unusual role of mediator in regional conflicts, one that Beijing appears to be keen to capitalize on under the rubric [sic] of President Xi Jinping's "Global Security Initiative." [23.02.23]

...A Kremlin statement said the two leaders would discuss cooperation in the political, trade and humanitarian spheres "as well as prospects for an overall settlement of the situation in and around Syria"....