Iran Army to stage military drills along Makran coast
Iran’s Army is scheduled to hold large-scale military exercises in a vast area along the Makran coastal strip, including the shores of the Sea of Oman, in the country’s southern and southeastern regions, a senior commander said.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Iran’s deputy army commander for coordination, Habibollah Sayyari, said the two-day maneuvers, codenamed Muhammad Rasoulallah (Muhammad, the Messenger of God), would start on Monday.
He added that the Army’s naval, ground and air forces as well as Air Defense units would participate in the drills, Press TV reported.
The maneuvers are aimed at enhancing the skill and morale of the Iranian Army’s personnel, evaluating training tactics, fire power and coordination among forces, devising plans for staging joint exercises at any time, as well as improving the defense capabilities of the Iranian Army, the commander emphasized.
Sayyari said the exercises would show the high defense capabilities of the Armed Forces to carry out missions aimed at conveying the Islamic Republic’s message of peace and friendship to regional countries.
The Islamic Republic is capable of maintaining full security of its waters, monitoring all moves and establishing sustainable developments in the region, he added.
In December, the Iranian Army held large-scale military drills, code-named Muhammad Rasoulallah, in the strategic southeastern parts of the country, covering an area of 220,000 square kilometers, in an effort to enhance the combat readiness of its ground forces.
Various units of Army Ground Forces are participating in the maneuvers, enjoying logistical support from the Army’s Air Force and the country’s Khatam al-anbia Air Defense Base.
Iran has conducted major military drills in recent years to enhance the defense capabilities of its Armed Forces and to test modern military tactics and state-of-the-art equipment. Iran, Russia and Turkey agreed lists of participants in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, the final formalities may take a couple more days, the Russian president’s Special Representative for the Syrian settlement Alexander Lavrentyev said on Saturday after consultations with Iran and Turkey.
“The key question we have discussed is the Syrian National Dialogue Congress,” he said. “My opinion is the meeting was successful. We shall face work to finalize everything, which may take a day or two maximum”, TASS reported.
Moscow is interested in the UN Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura’s participation in the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi, Lavrentyev said.
“The situation on the ground, on the battlefield in some Syrian regions remains rather tense,” Lavrentyev said.
The US military must not remain in Syria without consent from Damascus, the Russian official said on Saturday after consultations with Iran and Turkey.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari represented Iran in the Saturday meeting.
On November 19, Daesh terrorists were flushed out of their last stronghold in Syria’s Al-bukamal. The city’s liberation marked an end to the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate it had declared in 2014.
On November 22, the presidents of Iran, Russia and Turkey held talks on the Arab country’s crisis in Sochi, coming up with a plan for the Syrian National Dialogue Congress.
The congress is expected to be held in Sochi on January 29 and 30.