Iranian Armed Forces to hold major air-defence exercise next month

General Farzad Esmaili, the Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defence Force (IRIADF) announced today that a major air defence drill will be held next month.

The exercise will be participated by troops from both the army and the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC). Press TV, Iran’s national English language broadcaster reported that the drill will include participation of the fighter jets from the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force (IRIAF), and will involve simulated emergency situations.

While speaking to the representatives from the popular Iranian newspaper Hamshahri, Gen Esmaili claimed that the capability of the air defence systems of Iran have increased significantly during the past few years. He said that the IRIADF is completely prepared to take out any challenge to the national security. He also added that the co-ordination between IRIADF and the other branches of the Iranian Armed Forces has also undergone considerable improvement.

The Iranian armed forces had conducted a large scale military exercise last month, in which a number of ballistic missiles were tested. A number of short-range and medium range ballistic missile, such as the Shahab-1 and the Shahab-2 were tested during the military exercise, which was conducted by the IRGC. The drills, which were termed as “Great Prophet 7” by the Iranian authorities, were carried out at the Dasht-e Kavir (Great Salt Desert) region of Central Iran.

Meanwhile, the senior Israeli officials were quoted by the media as saying that “time is running out” to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. A recent American report had hinted that Iran may be able to develop nuclear weapons on its own by 2014. American officials have also joined their Israeli counterparts in arguing for a pre-emptive strike against the Iranian nuclear facilities, although nations such as China and Russia remain firmly against any such move.