“Our Armed Forces, including the Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), will crush any threat posed by any arrogant and aggressive power, at any level, and originated from any territory,” Major General Gholam-Ali Rashid said on Sunday.
He made the remarks on the sidelines of large-scale military drills, codenamed ‘Zolfaqar-1400’, which involved several units of the Army, namely the Ground Force, the Naval Force, the Air Force, and the Air Defense Force, extending from the east of the Hormuz Strait all the way to the north of the Indian Ocean.
Advising the enemies to avoid testing the military might of Iran’s Army and the IRGC, General Rashid said the two forces are composed of valiant children of Iran, who have laid the foundation of the country’s defensive power "on the national, historical and strategic legacy of the Holy Defense era (Iraq’s imposed war on Iran in the 1980s), so as to prevent aggressors from making any miscalculation."
The Iranian Army and the Armed Forces incessantly strive to maintain their readiness in the face of the coalition of hostile countries, particularly the American-Zionist coalition, in order to keep the country secure and defend its territorial integrity, he remarked.
“Today, in this massive exercise, which is being held in the south of Sistan and Baluchestan province, Hormozgan province, the shores of Makran, and the northern Indian Ocean, we witness a great deal of readiness on the part of the Army’s land, air, naval and air defense forces, which is a source of pride,” General Rashid added.
Drills ‘serious warning’ to enemies
In announcing the holding of ‘Zolfaqar-1400,’ Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, the chief commander of the maneuvers, said a day earlier that the war game carried a serious warning to the enemies and ill-wishers of the Islamic Iran.
“And for the friendly and Muslim countries and our dear people, it carries hope regarding the resistance of the country’s Army and other Armed Forces… to establish and strengthen security in the region without the presence of extra-regional forces,” Sayyari told a presser on the joint military drills. He added that holding such a large-scale exercise will definitely “make our friends happy.”
On the other hand, the admiral went on, boosting Iran’s defensive capabilities will deter the enemy from daring to encroach on the country’s national interests and territorial integrity.
“We should not allow any country to make the promotion of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s defensive capabilities look like a threat to others with the aim of sowing discord and Iranophobia,” Sayyari said.
This is not the case, the admiral said of Iranophobic allegations spread by the enemies, reiterating that Iran’s military progress is only intended to defend the country’s territorial integrity and national interests.