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Iranian Army Conducts Drills in Southeastern Region

By Orkhan Jalilov November 10, 2021

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The Iranian Army's joint three-day military exercises engaged the Iranian Army's navy, air force, air defense and ground forces, completed on November 9, 2021. / IRNA news agency

The Iranian Army's joint three-day military exercises dubbed “Zolfaqar-1400” have been completed, following a parade by naval forces' vessels and submarines.

“Upgrading combat capabilities, defending the independence and territorial integrity of Iran, as well as enhancing effective presence in distant international waters, improving the readiness of armed forces to stand against foes' provocations, simulating real combat ground, increasing coordination amongst four sections of Iran's Army, conveying experiences to the young generation, and utilizing the Army's current drone capacities were among the objectives of the drills”, the spokesman for the Army’s joint drills, Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, said on November 9.

The military exercises consisted of different series and scenarios in an area spanning more than one million square kilometers. The full-scale drills took place in Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, and northern parts of the Indian Ocean to the border with Pakistan, and engaged the Iranian Army's navy, air force, air defense and ground forces, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.

All 28 branches of the ground forces have been involved in the operation, using renovated armored personnel carriers, suicide and combat drones.

"In this exercise, the Tareq submarine hit a surface target firing a torpedo, and the domestically-made Ghadir submarine destroyed a target with an advanced and fully-Iranian made Valfajr torpedo," Mousavi said in another report.

He added that the Tareq submarine deployed DM1 mines, while naval units used the electronic warfare anti-radar drone Omid to disrupt the "enemy's radars" on the coast.

The Army fired smart artillery shells for the first time during the Zolfaqar-1400 drills. In order to target mock enemies from a long distance, the army forces utilized drones and missiles backed by helicopters.

The domestically-developed 15-Khordad and Mersad air defense systems were also used in the drills.

The final parade which was held in the southern port of Makran included various naval surface vessels and submarines, including homemade Dena Destroyer, Tareq and Qadir submarines and guided-missile destroyers, as well as F4 and Mirage warplanes, reconnaissance aircraft P3F and helicopters.

Speaking at the end of the drill, Mousavi said that Iran’s response to threats will not be limited to borders and retaliation might take place “everywhere”.

“These countries are themselves the origin of terrorism and insecurity. Wherever in the world they go, they create insecurity, and then they flee and leave problems and consequent insecurity for the people of those countries. There will be no coalition since their plans, measures and objectives lack consistency,” he added.

Prior to the drills, Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army for Coordination Issues, Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that the main objective of the drills was to "show that the response to slightest aggression against our territory by any enemy would be a bloody nose".