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Bekijk Volledige Versie : Iran houdt grootschalige militaire oefeningen bij de grens met Iraq



Spoetnik
12-09-04, 17:05
Iran's Revolutionary Guards begin military exercises near Irag border
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Hundreds of thousands of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards began military maneuvers Sunday near the border with Iraq, with a top commander saying the exercise was designed to reinforce Iran's resolve to defend itself against "big powers."

Mohammed Bagher Zolqadr, a senior officer of the Revolutionary Guards, did not mention the United States by name but was clearly referring to America, which leads the multinational force in neighboring Iraq.

"Our country has constantly been threatened directly or indirectly by extra-regional forces and big powers ... We are holding the exercises to show our resolve and will to defend ourselves," he told state television.

ran, which views the United States as an arch foe, is concerned about the US military presence in Iraq, to the west of Iran, and in Afghanistan, to the east of Iran.

US President George W. Bush has described Iran as part of an "axis of evil" with North Korea and Iraq under the ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.

Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, the chief of the Revolutionary Guards, told state radio that "hundreds of thousands" of troops were taking part in the nine-day maneuvers in western Iran.

The exercises would involve missiles, fighter aircraft and helicopters, Zolqadr said.

Since the end of the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in 1988, Iran has held a number of maneuvers each year to improve its military stamina and to test locally made equipment such as tanks, armored personnel carriers and missiles. The maneuvers are usually held near either the Iraqi border or the Afghan border.

Iran's armed forces comprise a regular army and the bigger Revolutionary Guards.
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