Commander: Iran’s Military Drills Meant to Serve as Deterrent to Enemy Threats

Iranian Ground Force Commander Lieutenant General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan underlined that the wargames staged jointly by different units of the country’s Armed Forces recently played a deterrent role against enemy threats.

By the recent Mohammad Rasoulallah (PBUH) drills staged in the Southern and Southeastern parts of Iran in late December “we showed to the regional states that the defensive capacities of our country and the region are so high that there is no need for the presence of foreigners”, Pourdastan said on Monday.

The wargames showed that the Iranian Armed Forces are ready to give a crushing response to anyone who might dream of an attack on the country, he added.

“A number of Army units will also take part in the future drills of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to show the unity and sympathy of the IRGC, Army and the Armed Forces as a message to those countries which have the illusion of making an aggression against Iran; these enemies should know that there are soldiers in Iran who in full obedience to the Supreme Leader’s orders kill any threat in the offing and make those who threaten the country regret their deeds,” Pourdastan underlined.

In relevant remarks earlier this month, the Iranian commander said the army units that participated in the recent drills in Southern and Southeastern Iran experienced real war conditions.

“Mohammad Rasoulallah (PBUH) drills which were staged in Southeastern Iran gave precisely the feeling of a real war; our main goal of staging the wargames was assessing our power of reaction to incidents and enemy invasion,” Pourdastan said, addressing a gathering in Tehran.

He described the heavy fire and rapid troop deployment as the most important features of the week-long drills staged late in December.

Different units of the Iranian Army’s Ground Force, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense staged massive joint military drills along the country’s Southern and Southeastern coasts late last month.

The military exercises codenamed Mohammad Rasoulallah (PBUH) covered an area of 2.2 million square kilometers from the East of the Strait of Hormuz to the Southern parts of the Gulf of Aden.

In the last phase of the drills staged in the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan, Army Commander Major General Ataollah Salehi and Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari on December 31, the surface and subsurface vessels of the Iranian Navy displayed their capabilities in military parades.

The Iranian Navy vessels also successfully fired the country’s home-made Nour and Nasr cruise missiles on the sixth day of the massive Mohammad Rasoulallah (PBUH) drills.

The Nour cruise missiles fired by the Iranian Navy vessels hit their specified targets in the regions where the drills were being staged.

Nour is a well-known cruise missile with a range of over 120km used by the Iranian army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in different wargames and can be launched from coasts, vessels and aircrafts against enemy vessels, oil facilities and naval positions.

Also, Nasr cruise missiles were fired from the vessels participating in the underway massive drills in the Sea of Oman and the international waters.

The Nasr smart cruise missile is a short-range missile which is capable of destroying 3,000-ton vessels and can be fired from coasts, different vessels and helicopters.

Also, the Iranian Navy’s AB-212 helicopters, equipped with machine-guns and rocket-launching systems, fired at specified targets and destroyed them.

It was the first time that the Navy’s anti-submarine AB-212 helicopters were used in operation.

The Helicopters were recently equipped with offensive systems by the Navy experts.

Also on the fifth day of the drills, Iran’s latest home-grown torpedo was fired by the Naval forces’ anti-submarine SH-3D helicopters.

The torpedo successfully hit and destroyed the specified sub-surface target in the waters of the Sea of Oman, Southern Iran.

According to Rear Admiral Sayyari, the torpedo, test-fired recently, was used in operation for the first time.

The torpedo was in November test-fired in Jask region, Southern Iran, and can be fired from submarines, surface vessels and helicopters.

2 anti-subsurface SH-3D helicopters which were delivered to the Navy on December 1 were equipped with the torpedoes.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems.

During the drills, the Iranian Navy also launched its newly-developed mine laying and sweeping system on the fourth day of the wargames.

On the fourth day of the drills, the Iranian Navy rolled mines in the Sea of Oman and the area where the exercises were being staged to prevent hypothetical enemies’ infiltration into the territorial waters.

Various flying units, surface vessels, high-speed boats, heavy Tareq-class submarines and indigenized and optimized vessels were used in the drills.

After rolling the mines, the Iranian Naval forces defused them using minesweeping RH helicopters to provide security for the cargo ships and oil tankers and keeping the shipping lines open.

The Navy’s new integrated mine laying and sweeper system was then unveiled in a ceremony participated by Rear Admiral Sayyari.

Iran is among the few world countries with advanced minesweeping capabilities.