Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani has expressed Tehran's readiness to expand joint military drills with China as part of a bid to further develop bilateral strategic ties and counter the West’s persisting unilateralism.
Underlining that the United States is currently engaged in fomenting crisis and tension in Eastern Europe and West Asia, Ashtiani insisted during a Saturday meeting with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in India's capital of New Delhi that “American policies are a common threat to Iran and China; we are against a unipolar world.”
Stressing that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has turned into an influential organization in global developments, Ashtiani said the expansion and consolidation of the SCO is an effective step towards promoting multilateralism in the international arena.
The Iranian defense chief further pointed to significant changes in the regional and international issues, and added that the two countries have invariably collaborated to thwart the implementation of “unilateralist and totalitarian approaches” pursued by the West in independent countries.
The defense minister referred to last month’s joint naval drills between Iran, China and Russia, dubbed Maritime Security Belt exercise 2023, saying, “This showed that the three countries are against the hegemonic views of the West and the United States, and we are ready to expand joint drills and exercises in the fields of sea, land, and air defense quantitatively and qualitatively.”
Ashtiani further state, “It will be very useful and productive for both sides to continue the dialogue and engage in exchanges of military defense and intelligence delegations at different levels.”
Ashtiani also lauded shared cultural and historical relations between Iran and China, saying the political will of the leaders of the two countries as well as the understanding and adoption of common positions towards international developments are of strategic value.......more below
All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The Empire of Chaos is relentless. Lawfare, destabilizations, sanctions, kidnappings, color revolutions, false flags, annexations: 2025 will be the year of BRICS – plus BRICS partners – as choice targets under fire.
Inestimable Prof. Michael Hudson coined “chaos” as official US policy. That’s bipartisan – and it runs across all silos of the Deep State.
In the absence of long-term strategic vision, and amidst the progressive imperial expulsion from Eurasia, all that’s left for the Hegemon is to unleash chaos from West Asia to Europe and parts of Latin America – a concerted attempt to Divide and Rule BRICS and thwart their collective drive affirming sovereignty and the primacy of national ...
While NATO may be yearning to take on Russia in the Arctic, many of its troops lack the necessary expertise for survival in such extreme conditions.
Although NATO forces regularly participate in drills in the region, many remain unprepared for the harsh realities of Arctic life.
Though NATO forces routinely participate in the bloc’s drills in the region, many of them are still not prepared to survive in the Arctic’s harsh conditions, The Sun reports citing Minna Alander, a researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.
"Not all NATO allies have the capabilities that are needed and that work in the Arctic environment and climate,” Alander said.....more below
