Army Ground Forces start war games in western Iran

An Iranian Army officer looks through a military camera during Hazrat Qaem war games in the western part of the country.

Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:44PM GMT

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A senior Iranian Army commander says the country’s Ground Forces have launched a military drill codenamedHazrat Qaem in the western part of the country.

Deputy Commander of Operations in the Iranian Army's Ground Forces Brigadier General Gholamali Gholamalian said the main purpose of the war game, which began on Monday and will wrap up on Friday, is to improve combat preparedness, planning and field assessment of Iranian forces for any possible military attack.

Last week, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) staged a three-day missile drill codenamed the Great Prophet 7 in the central Iranian province of Semnan.

The indigenous missiles, including Shahab (Meteor) 1, 2, 3, Khalij Fars (Persian Gulf), Tondar (Lightning), Fateh (Victor) and Zelzal (Quake) as well as Qiam (Uprising) were fired at the mock targets during the drill.

In February, the IRGC conducted a military exercise named Val Fajr in Markazi (central) Desert, days after the Army’s air forces wrapped up the four-day exercise, Tharallah, near the strategic Persian Gulf region.

Also in February, during the Hamiyan-e Velayat drill, the IRGC forces practiced tactical commando raid and aerial combat, launched air offensive and defensive operations and carried out heliborne and anti-heliborne operations.

In January, the IRGC Ground Forces held the Shohaday-e Vahdat military drill in the eastern province of Khorasan Razavi.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in the defense sector and gained self-sufficiency in essential military hardware and defense systems.

Iran has repeatedly assured other nations, especially regional neighbors, that its military might poses no threat to other countries, insisting that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.

MP/PKH/AZ/IS