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.
Volker Turk has warned that efforts to advance reparatory justice are facing resistance in “certain quarters,” and urged countries to back Africa’s push.
Reparatory justice for historical crimes, including colonialism, enslavement, and the trade in enslaved Africans, is crucial to dismantling systemic racism, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has said.
Speaking at the UN Permanent Forum on People of African Descent on Tuesday, Turk linked present-day discrimination against people from the continent to the enduring legacy of colonialism and enslavement.
”Racism and dehumanizing rhetoric continue to permeate public institutions, communities, and online platforms,” he said, according to the UN Press Service. Turk noted that “digital technologies, including AI, are reproducing and amplifying existing biases against people of African descent.”
The remarks come weeks after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring the transatlantic slave trade “the gravest...
The US VP had to defend President Trump’s Gaza policy at a rally on a Georgia college campus.
US Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to defend Washington’s policy in Gaza after he was booed and heckled at a key MAGA event on Wednesday.
Co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) is a conservative student group that has long been seen as a strong support base of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement but is now showing apparent cracks.
Less than 15 minutes into a TPUSA event at the University of Georgia on Wednesday, Vance was interrupted by hecklers over US policy in Gaza, with one audience member shouting, “Jesus Christ does not support genocide!” As he attempted to respond, others shouted, “You’re killing children!” and “You’re bombing children!”
Vance replied by referring to Trump’s achievements as president, including securing a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, something he said the previous administration of Joe Biden failed to do.
“I ...
Sergey Shoigu has cautioned Finland and the Baltic states against allowing Kiev to use their airspace for attacks on Russia.
Russia would have the right to retaliate if Finland and the Baltic states are deliberately allowing Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said on Thursday.
“Recently, there has been an increase in Ukrainian drone strikes against Russia via Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia,” Shoigu told journalists. “As a result, civilians are suffering and significant damage is being caused to civilian infrastructure.”
Either Western air defenses are proving ineffective, or these four countries “deliberately provide their airspace, thereby becoming open accomplices in aggression against Russia,” he added. In the latter case, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter, the security chief stressed.
In recent weeks, Kiev has intensified drone strikes on ...
