Different units of the armed forces in nationwide parades on Wednesday displayed their capabilities and latest military achievements, including a new ballistic missile with high precision.
The Iranian Armed Forces staged military parades on Wednesday morning to commemorate Sacred Defense Week (Sept. 21-27), which marks the onset of the Iraqi imposed war on Iran 36 years ago, Tasnim News Agency reported.
In the capital Tehran, the parades were held at the mausoleum of the late founder of Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, south of the city.
Simultaneously, a large-scale military parade was also held in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas under the supervision of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Naval Force, with more than 500 watercraft as well as fighter jets and helicopters in attendance.
One of the remarkable achievements displayed in Bandar Abbas was a new ballistic missile named Zolfaqar.
Known as one of the most precise homegrown missiles, Zolfaqar is a long-range ballistic missile with a cluster warhead capable of hitting a large number of targets on the ground.
Every year, in late September, the armed forces arrange parades to honor the martyrs of the 1980-88 Iraq-imposed war.
Addressing the military parade in Tehran, Chairman of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri said there will be no delay or slowdown in Iran’s military tests and war games, stressing that the country has devised comprehensive defensive strategies to counter all threats.
The senior commander emphasized that “all military tests and war games will be held as scheduled and will not be suspended or delayed under any circumstances.”
“The military programs will be made public whenever they are deemed appropriate,” Baqeri said, adding that the Iranian Armed Forces enjoy such high level of defense power that they will never face a surprise attack.
***US Should Leave Persian Gulf
IRGC Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari also advised the Americans to stop wasting the US nation’s assets by ending their “malicious and harmful” naval presence in the Persian Gulf.
In line with the guidelines set by the Leader of Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, “we tell the Americans that they better stop wasting the American people’s assets and wealth by their malicious and harmful presence in the Persian Gulf,” Jafari told reporters on the sidelines of the military parade in Bandar Abbas.
The US Navy should better go to the Bay of Pigs for adventurism or muscle show, the top commander said, referring to the Bay of Pigs invasion, a failed military invasion of Cuba undertaken by the CIA-sponsored paramilitary group Brigade 2506 in 1961.
The IRGC chief also reacted to the US officials’ remarks about alleged provocative maneuvers by Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf, saying it is the US that inflicts costs on itself and on other countries because of its “unbalanced behavior and lack of intelligence dominance” in the Persian Gulf.
The comments came after a top commander of US forces in the Middle East criticized Iran over what he called provocative and unsafe maneuvers in the Persian Gulf.
Jafari underlined that the results of the IRGC’s naval presence in the Persian Gulf demonstrate that the move to assign IRGC with the task of ensuring security in “such sensitive, critical and strategic” part of the world has been a wise decision.
Back in May, Ayatollah Khamenei censured the US for its schemes against Iran’s military presence in the Persian Gulf and made it clear that the Islamic Republic will continue to demonstrate its might at home, that is Persian Gulf.
“The Persian Gulf is the Iranian nation’s home ... and the coasts of the Persian Gulf and large parts of the Sea of Oman coasts belong to this strong nation,” the Leader said at the time.
“Today, the enemies are biting off more than they can chew. For example, they draw plans that Iran should not hold military war games in the Persian Gulf.”
