Iran Army Stages Massive Military Drills
Local Editor
Iran launched extensive military drills on Thursday, local media reported, in a show of strength stretching several hundred kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Aden.
The massive drills are code-named Mohammad Rasoulallah [Mohammad, the Messenger of God] to display the country's military prowess.
The first stage of the six-day military drill began on Thursday. The exercises will cover an area of 2.2 million square kilometers stretching from the east of the Strait of Hormuz all the way to the 10th parallel north in the north of the Indian Ocean.
The drills are set to last six days and involve ballistic missile and drone testing, according to military officials.
Close to 13,000 personnel will take part in the drills, which will be the first time Iran has organized military maneuvers so far from its coastline.
During the first stage of the drill, which is the largest of its kind in the region, different ground units, fighter jets and air defense systems have been stationed in the southeastern part of the country. Various surface and undersurface vessels have also been deployed in the Sea of Oman.
The southeastern provinces of Hormozgan and Sistan-Baluchistan will also be included in the tests, with the Iranian army, air force, navy and Revolutionary Guards participating.
The Second-in-Command of the Iranian Army Brigadier General Abdolrahim Mousavi said that "boosting the defense capabilities" of the country is one of the objectives of the maneuvers.
The Iranian commander said that the country's army wants to convey a message of peace and friendship to neighboring states through this military drill.
The exercises will be carried out by the Army's Ground, Naval and Air Forces and with the support of Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base.
On Tuesday, Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that various types of warships, destroyers, submarines, missiles, aircraft and helicopters would take part in the drill in a bid to improve the naval forces' power.
Last week Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari called on foreign forces in the region to "leave the area" in order to avoid incidents.
The drills will pose "no danger to foreign forces in the Persian Gulf," he added, in an apparent reference to the US Fifth Fleet, which is stationed in Bahrain.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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