The Iranian Army will start large-scale military exercises in an area stretching from the eastern sector of the strategic Strait of Hormuz to the northern tip of the Indian Ocean, Deputy Chief of the Iranian Army for Coordination Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari says.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Sayyari added that the joint drills — codenamed Zolfaqar 1401 — will begin later tonight with the key motto of “self-confidence, power, sustainable security” to promote the combat capability of the Armed Forces.
He added that the infantry and armored units as well as mechanized regiments of the Army’s Ground Force, air defense systems, subsurface, surface and flying vessels and rangers of the Navy will participate. Strategic bombers of the Air Force will also provide logistical support.
The maneuvers are aimed at improving planning skills, conducting, directing and evaluating joint operations and synergizing the defense power of the Army’s four main divisions.
Sayyari said the drills also focus on enhancing the skills of the Army’s commanders and personnel in using the combat units and the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base, drones, electronic and cyber warfare systems.
The commander said the participants will also practice conducting operations in special environments, including those contaminated with biological, chemical and nuclear agents, electronic warfare, and adverse weather conditions.
Sayyari stressed the importance of establishing security in West Asia by relying on the capabilities of the regional countries and their unity.
The massive drills, he said, will remind the regional states of the existing capacities and the fact that they do not need any foreign powers to ensure security in the region.
The presence of extra-regional countries and warmongers has always brought nothing to the West Asia region but insecurity, war and occupation, Sayyari emphasized.
He said the extra-regional countries, particularly the US and Britain, must exit the region so that regional countries can establish stability and peace in their neighborhood.
The Zolfaqar 1401 joint exercise aims to show that the arms embargoes against Iran are ineffective as the country possesses domestically-manufactured equipment.
The document’s dismissal of Europe “as a power of no significance signals that there are three truly great powers left: the United States, Russia and China,” military expert Alexei Borzenko told Sputnik.
The US is also “well aware that we’ve outpaced them on certain types of weapons,” the observer said, citing Russian advances in hypersonics, and the depletion of US and European weapon stocks in Ukraine.
The US is eager to end the crisis in Ukraine, which has proven “a dead-end situation" for NATO "from which the only way out is peace,” Borzenko said, citing the document’s conciliatory language on the conflict and on Russia.
Furthermore, “during negotiations, the Americans figured out what the Kiev junta represents, and how difficult it is to negotiate with it. They understand what kind of crooks they are dealing with” and are tired of it, Borzenko argues.
That’s why various leaders’ recent claims that the Ukrainian crisis could end abruptly seems like a real ...
The head of the Supreme Alawite Islamic Council in Syria and Diaspora, Sheikh Ghazal Ghazal, has called for a nationwide five-day general strike in a “peaceful and clear response” to the religious persecution and sectarian violence against members of the community under the ruling Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime.
Sheikh Ghazal, in a statement released on Saturday, announced that the strike will begin on Monday and will end on December 12, in response to the pressures and threats from HTS authorities.
“Our response will be completely peaceful, and will be expressed through a nationwide strike and staying indoors for five days,” he noted.
Sheikh Ghazal stated that the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad's government late last year was expected to usher in a new era in Syria’s history, but it was the collapse of remnants of the homeland under the motto of freedom.. ..more below
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United States President Donald Trump came to power promising to stop America’s endless wars, but he is on the cusp of starting another one — in Venezuela. Protesters came out in cities across the United States to stop the escalating aggression of Washington towards the oil-rich nation.....more below
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2025/12/07/760163/US-protests-Venezuela-war
