Adm. Sayyari: Our Response Not Limited to West Asia
Iran Drills Confronting Aggression
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran’s military on Thursday launched an annual drill in the Persian Gulf near the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway at a time of U.S. efforts to align Arab and Israeli regimes against the axis of resistance led by Iran in the region.
The three-day exercise in the eastern side of the strait in the Gulf of Oman is aimed at improving Tehran’s military might to confront "foreign threats and any possible invasion”, the commander of the maneuver, Admiral Habibollah Sardari, said.
Naval, air and ground forces, including submarines and drones, are participating in the drill, called Zolfaghar-99.
There have been periodic confrontations between Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf in recent years, but American troops have mostly observed the Iranian patrols’ rules of engagement.
The spokesman for the drill, Admiral Shahram Irani, told national TV that the United States had withdrawn drones from the area of the exercise after a warning from Iran.
Tehran, which opposes the presence of U.S. and Western navies in the area, holds annual war games in the strait, the conduit for some 30% of all crude traded by sea.
Tensions have risen between Tehran and Washington since 2018, when the United States withdrew from a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six major powers, and reimposed sanctions. Iran has threatened to block the Strait if its crude exports were shut down by U.S. sanctions.
"The enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran will have to know that in case of any strategic mistake on their behalf, Iran’s response will not be limited to the West Asia region and they will face a wide theater of combat,” Admiral Sayyari said.
Iranian forces held the second day of their exercises on Friday with drone and cruise missile strikes.
A Qader anti-ship cruise missile was fired, successfully destroying a mock enemy vessel more than 200 kilometers from the coast. The Nasr anti-ship cruise missile was also fired from Iran’s Najm missile boat, destroying its target.
The Kaman-12 drone, which is the Iranian army’s first combat drone, conducted surveillance operations within the perimeter of the maneuvers.
The drill covers an area of two million square kilometers in the eastern waters of the Strait of Hormuz near the Persian Gulf, Makran coast, the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean up to 10 degrees north.
Admiral Irani said the forces were simulating various and complex real war scenarios, "many of which cannot be made public due to considerations”.
Addressing the use of cruise missiles during the Friday drills, he said the army’s cruise missiles have been designed to deliver a large explosive impact and conduct operations in electronic warfare environments.
The three-day exercise in the eastern side of the strait in the Gulf of Oman is aimed at improving Tehran’s military might to confront "foreign threats and any possible invasion”, the commander of the maneuver, Admiral Habibollah Sardari, said.
Naval, air and ground forces, including submarines and drones, are participating in the drill, called Zolfaghar-99.
There have been periodic confrontations between Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and the U.S. military in the Persian Gulf in recent years, but American troops have mostly observed the Iranian patrols’ rules of engagement.
The spokesman for the drill, Admiral Shahram Irani, told national TV that the United States had withdrawn drones from the area of the exercise after a warning from Iran.
Tehran, which opposes the presence of U.S. and Western navies in the area, holds annual war games in the strait, the conduit for some 30% of all crude traded by sea.
Tensions have risen between Tehran and Washington since 2018, when the United States withdrew from a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six major powers, and reimposed sanctions. Iran has threatened to block the Strait if its crude exports were shut down by U.S. sanctions.
"The enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran will have to know that in case of any strategic mistake on their behalf, Iran’s response will not be limited to the West Asia region and they will face a wide theater of combat,” Admiral Sayyari said.
Iranian forces held the second day of their exercises on Friday with drone and cruise missile strikes.
A Qader anti-ship cruise missile was fired, successfully destroying a mock enemy vessel more than 200 kilometers from the coast. The Nasr anti-ship cruise missile was also fired from Iran’s Najm missile boat, destroying its target.
The Kaman-12 drone, which is the Iranian army’s first combat drone, conducted surveillance operations within the perimeter of the maneuvers.
The drill covers an area of two million square kilometers in the eastern waters of the Strait of Hormuz near the Persian Gulf, Makran coast, the Sea of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean up to 10 degrees north.
Admiral Irani said the forces were simulating various and complex real war scenarios, "many of which cannot be made public due to considerations”.
Addressing the use of cruise missiles during the Friday drills, he said the army’s cruise missiles have been designed to deliver a large explosive impact and conduct operations in electronic warfare environments.