Iran to Stage Massive Wargames in Southern Waters

Codenamed as ‘Zolfaqar 99’, the military exercises will kick off on Thursday near the Southern coasts of the country, Rear Admiral Sayyari said on Wednesday.

He said that the main phases of the drill will be held with the participation of the Navy, Air Defense, Air Force, and Ground Force units in an area of 2 million square kilometers near the Eastern parts of Hormuz Strait, Makran coasts, Sea of Oman, and North of the Indian Ocean.

^{Rear Admiral Sayyari}

“Surface and subsurface vessels, flying units, and part of the equipment and weapons available in the Army Combat Organization are present in this exercises, the most important of which is the powerful presence of home-made Fateh submarine,” Rear Admiral Sayyari said.

He added that the exercises will be held with the motto of ‘sustainable security under defensive authority’, in three different phases of intelligence superiority, tactics, and display of power.

“Among the goals of the wargames are boosting the readiness and military capability in naval, aerial, ground, and air defense fields in joint exercises, and confrontation against the trans-regional threats by practicing operational plans and making sure of their sufficiency in confrontation against any possible aggression,” Rear Admiral Sayyari said.

Among other exercises planned for the wargames are heliborne operations and amphibious operations to take control of targetted coasts, he added.

During the drills, the Iran-made long-range drone named Simorq will take part in combat and offensive operations against enemy vessels, in addition to the reconnaissance missions, and will hit enemy vessels with smart and pin-point bombs, Rear Admiral Sayyari said.

Late in July during the second day of massive ‘Great Prophet-14’ drills in the Southern parts of the country, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) fired ballistic missiles buried deep into the ground.

The successful firing of ballistic missiles fully hidden in camouflage deep into the ground was an important achievement that could pose serious challenges to enemy intelligence agencies.

Iranian Armed Forces recently test-fire different types of newly-developed missiles and torpedoes and tested a large number of home-made weapons, tools and equipment, including submarines, military ships, artillery, choppers, aircrafts, UAVs and air defense and electronic systems, during massive military drills.

Iranian officials have always stressed that the country’s military and arms programs serve defensive purposes.

Defense analysts and military observers say that Iran’s wargames and its advancements in weapons production have proved as a deterrent factor.