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Iranian Army Ground Forces to begin major drills

Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces (Tasnim photo)

The Iranian Army’s Ground Forces are set to begin a series of major military drills in the country with the aim of boosting their combat readiness, a senior commander says.

Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, commander of the Iranian Army’s Ground Forces, said Wednesday that the maneuvers, dubbed Beit-ul-Muqaddas, will begin in three geographic locations in Iran on Thursday.

He said the drills are mainly meant to increase the readiness of the forces to counter proxy wars and jointly-waged battles and will test the combat readiness and alertness of the Iranian armed forces.

General Pourdastan added that various units of the Army’s Ground Forces, including the infantry, armored units, artillery units and rapid response units will take part in the drills.

He said some new military equipment will be tested during the maneuvers, adding that the ground forces will also rehearse some modern tactics which he described as “consistent with proxy wars.”

"Rapid mobility and relocation of forces in the shortest possible time as well as the use of heavy fire power will be among the features of the drills," the high-profile commander said.

In a recent interview with IRNA, Pourdastan had said that the Beit-ul-Muqaddas missile and rocket drills will be staged in the central Iranian province of Isfahan. A previous edition of the drills was held in May 2014 in the same Iranian province, with Iranian commanders calling it a major success.

In recent years, Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing important military equipment and systems.

Iran has also conducted other major military drills to enhance the defense capabilities of its armed forces and to test modern military tactics and state-of-the-art army equipment.

The Islamic Republic maintains that its military might poses no threat to other countries, stating that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.

MS/HMV/GHN


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