Army Commander: Armed Forces Fully Prepared to Defend Iran

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran's Armed Forces enjoy a high level of preparedness to defend the country against any enemy aggression and are able to deal a heavy blow to enemies in all battlefields, a senior Iranian army commander underlined on Saturday.

"Today, the Iranian armed forces enjoy a high level of strength and capabilities to defend (the country) and hit enemy on land, in the air and in the sea thanks to their obedience to the thoughts and guidelines of the Supreme Leader (of the Islamic Revolution) and their advanced equipments," Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said on Saturday.  He further mentioned that enhancement of combat capabilities is the central issue for the Iranian Army.  "The Army will utilize any opportunity to promote its operation capabilities, and updating tactics and techniques are among our priorities," Pourdastan stated.  "All these efforts lie within the defense doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran's holy establishment and are interpreted as (the power of) deterrence," he concluded.  Iranian officials and commanders have warned that any enemy move, even the slightest aggressions, against the Islamic Republic would be reciprocated with a destructive response and will endanger the US interests all around the world.  On November 10, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei warned enemies about Iran's tough response to any aggression or even threat, stressing that the country would respond with full force to any attack.  "Iran is not a nation to sit still and just observe threats from fragile materialist powers which are being eaten by worms from inside," Ayatollah Khamenei told students at a Tehran military college.  "Anyone who harbors any thought of invading the Islamic Republic of Iran - or even if the thought crosses their mind - should be prepared to receive strong blows and the steel fists of the military, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and the Basij (volunteer) force, backed by the entire Iranian nation," he said.  "Iran will respond with full force to any aggression or even threats in a way that will demolish the aggressors from within," he added. (FNA)

Iranian Army IRGC to Stage Joint Wargames

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) plan to stage joint military drills to boost their defense and combat capabilities in the current Iranian year (started on March 20), a senior Army commander announced on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan announced that his forces plan to hold 8 wargames in different fields, among them specialized airborne exercises and joint drills with the IRGC.  "The exercise will be held in the Southeastern or Southwestern borders of the country," Pourdastan said, adding that the wargames will be at division level and the first joint exercise between the two military forces after the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.  Iran's Army and IRGC hold regular wargames to practice combat tactics and also test new home-made military tools, equipment and weapons in action.  In the most recent case, Iranian Army and the IRGC reviewed their latest air defense tactics during the current phase of the drills underway in the Southern province of Bushehr,  Iran's Air Defense Unit staged massive air defense drills, codenamed 'Sarallah', in the country's Southern regions in February to test and assess the latest versions and productions of home-made radar and missile defense systems.  Timely detection of hypothetical enemy targets, manned and unmanned aerial vehicles and identification of them by integrated air defense systems as well as tactical independence were among the objectives accomplished in the drills.  Different types of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF) fighter jets, IRGC's aircraft, different mid and long-range and low altitude air defense systems were used in the drills. (FNA)

Iranian Commander Denies Report of US Drone Overflights

TEHRAN (FNA)- A top Iranian military commander denied a US news report that the CIA has been successfully sending spy drones over Iran over the past three years, and added that Iranian drones have repeatedly flown over American ships in the Persian Gulf and have taken photos of them.

"No unmanned or manned (surveillance) aircraft has entered Iran's air space" apart from one US stealth drone that was captured last December, Brigadier General Farzad Esmaili of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Air Defense Command told the Islamic republic news agency.  He was reacting to a story in The Washington Post newspaper last weekend that alleged the Central Intelligence Agency sent its first surveillance drone over Iran three years ago with "never even a ripple" detected in Iran's air defenses.  The report claimed that CIA drones subsequently scoured dozens of sites in Iran, making hundreds of passes over facilities before the stealth drone - an RQ-170 model - crashed inside Iran's borders in December.  But Esmaili was quoted as saying: "No surveillance unmanned aircraft has passed over Iran, and published photos were (taken) by satellite systems."  He said "you witnessed what happened" when the captured RQ-170 tried to make its flight in December.  Meantime, the Iranian commander said that "drones operated by the IRGC and the (Iranian) military have flown over American ships (in the Persian Gulf) and have taken photos of them". (FNA)

Iran Unveils Modern Fire-Control System for Home-Made Zolfaqar Tank

TEHRAN (FNA)- Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan on Wednesday underlined the army's high capability to produce different hi-tech military tools and weapons, including a modern fire-control system mounted on the home-made Zolfaqar Tanks.

"The (new) fire control system of Zolfaqar tank has been manufactured and unveiled and the laser telemetry devices have also been mounted onto the tanks. Zolfaqar can now vie with the world's most advanced tanks," Pourdastan told reporters on Wednesday.  Zolfaqar is a second generation of Iran's main battle tank (MBT). The test prototypes of the tank were evaluated in 1993. Six semi-industrial prototypes of the tank were produced and tested in 1997. The tank has a distinctive box-shaped, steel-welded turret of local design. Zolfaqar combat weight is reported to be 36 tons and has a 780 hp diesel engine; the tank has a 21.7 hp per ton ratio.  Zolfaqar is operated by a crew of three personnel. The automatic loader is believed to be the same one from the T-72 tank.  The Zolfaqar-1 uses a fire control system which enjoys a 'fire-on-the-move' technology. The Zolfaqar mounts a laser-warning pod on the turret. Its design enables the tank to use an Iranian-made package of reactive armor.  Zolfaqar-2 is a prototype tank used as a test bed. The Zolfaqar-3 also features considerable upgrades to the fire control system, chassis, engine and main gun, with a 125mm autoloader.  As regards other achievements, the Iranian Army commander said that Akhgar machineguns have been manufactured by Iran's Self-Sufficiency Jihad and have been supplied to military units.  Akhgar is a Gatling type machine gun. it has 7.62 caliber and an effective range of more than 2km and has a fire rate of 4000 to 6000 rounds per minute.  Pourdastan further announced that the army has also built and started using the country's first home-made Vertical Wind Tunnel, adding that the tunnel is a new and unprecedented project in Iran and even in the region.  A vertical wind tunnel (VWT) is a wind tunnel which moves air up in a vertical column. The wind tunnel, frequently advertised as "indoor skydiving" or "bodyflight" is also a popular training tool for skydivers. (FNA)

Iran: US-Israeli Missile Shield in Persian Gulf Impairs Regional Security

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi warned on Wednesday that the US-Israeli project for deploying a missile shield in the Persian Gulf impairs security of the region, reiterating that the battery merely serves the security of the Zionist regime.

"The US-Israeli plans like the missile defense shield in the Persian Gulf impairs security of the region and is in line with establishing security of the Zionist regime," Vahidi said on Wednesday, addressing a number of commanders and forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in the Southern province of Hormozgan.  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week promoted the missile shield idea at a Persian Gulf-US security forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. US officials have said it is their "priority" to help the six Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) states build "regional missile defense architecture" against Iran.  Washington has been seeking hard to portray Iran as a threat to the regional states, specially the Arab countries on the rims of the Persian Gulf, but many Arab leaders in the region stress that they do not see Iran as a threat.  Vahidi underlined that security of the region should be established by the regional countries, and hailed the combat and operational preparedness of the IRGC Navy to defend the country against any aggressive moves by the enemies in the Persian Gulf.  "The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will not allow the foreign forces to impair the Persian Gulf region's security and tranquility," the Iranian defense minister underscored.  Iran's naval power has even been acknowledged by foes. In a Sep. 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy also said that in the two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the Islamic Republic has excelled in naval capabilities and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.  According to the report, Iran's Navy has been transformed into a highly motivated, well-equipped, and well-financed force and is effectively in control of the world's oil lifeline, the Strait of Hormuz.  The study says that if Washington takes military action against the Islamic Republic, the scale of Iran's response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets. (FNA)

Iran Deploying New Home-Made Radar System

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran will start using a new home-made powerful radar system in coming days, a senior Iranian commander announced on Monday.

"Samen Radar System will come online in the next ten days," Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli told FNA.  "We are now deploying it," the commander said, adding that Samen's range is "good" and is able to detect and identify targets with very low Radar Cross Section (RCS).  Esmayeeli stated that the radar will be stationed in the most far-fetched and remote areas first and will later be deployed throughout the country.  In February, the Iranian Armed Forces launched new radar and missile systems with various ranges all throughout Iran.  Tens of radar and missile systems with various ranges were manufactured and deployed in Iran's defense sector and new systems were to join the defense network during the 10-Day Dawn celebrations, marking the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran.  Iran has recently renewed and upgraded the weapons and defense systems of its air defense units.  Also in February, Iran's air defense units assessed the performance and capabilities of different types of mobile and fixed radar systems during Sarallah military drills in Southern Iran.  During the air defense wargames, different fixed and mobile radar systems manufactured and upgraded by Iranian experts and under the control of Iran's integrated air defense network were used.  Kasta and NEBO radars as well as the Iran-made Kashef (Discoverer) and Matla ol-Fajr (The Start of Dawn) radars were used to detect and identify aerial threats. (FNA)

Iran to Unveil "National Chopper" Soon

TEHRAN (FNA)- An Iranian Army commander announced that the country is working on plans to manufacture home-made choppers, and added that the Iran-made chopper will be unveiled in the near future.

"As regards chopper manufacturing, the Defense Ministry has drawn plans to that end and they are working on them," Iranian Army Airborne Commander Colonel Houshang Yari said on Saturday.  "Choppers that we can call national(ly designed and manufactured) will come into use in the near future," Yari stated.  He further pointed out that Iran's airborne unit has been seeking self-sufficiency in supplying its needed parts, and is now able to supply the needed spare parts for its choppers.  Iran has taken wide strides in designing and manufacturing different types of light, semi-heavy and heavy weapons, military tools and equipment. Tehran launched an arms development program during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran to compensate for a US weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and fighter planes.  Yet, Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country. (FNA)