TEHRAN, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hailed the performance and achievements of the country 's army in the past years as the country celebrated the national Army Day on Monday.
Ahmadinejad praised the achievements of the Iranian military and referred to the Iranian army as the most "powerful in the world" and "undefeatable."
Ahmadinejad also criticized the Western powers for what he called an interference in the domestic affairs of the regional countries, adding the countries should be vigilant not to be trapped in the plots of the non-regional powers which aim at stirring Iran-Arab or Shiite-Sunni strife.
Different units of Iranian Army staged parade on Monday and displayed the latest Iranian military achievements especially those in missile technology in the presence of the president and a number of Iranian high ranking military officials.
Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi who also participated in the ceremony of the Army Day told the official IRNA news agency that "the Army has made good progress in all its forces ... and air defense has succeeded in making outstanding achievements in enhancing capabilities."
Meanwhile, the Army Ground Force has achieved a "very great level of readiness" and the navy force has demonstrated its capabilities at the "global" level, Vahidi was quoted as saying.
Commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base Farzad Esmaili said Iran has successfully test-fired a new domestically- made air defense system, named Mersad, the local satellite Press TV reported on Monday.
Esmaili said the Mersad air defense system, which was test- fired in an air defense base in the northern province of Semnan on Sunday, is capable of hitting targets up to 150 km away, said Press TV without further details.
On Saturday, Iran announced that it has successfully test-fired another air-defense missile system dubbed Sayyad-2.
Its previous version Sayyad-1, which Iran had unveiled earlier, is a two-stage surface-to-air missile. Equipped with a 200 kg warhead and with a speed of 1,200 meters per second, it can not only be deployed to destroy the targets with low Radar Cross Section (RCS) at low and medium altitudes, but also be used in electronic warfare, local semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Sayyad-2 is an upgraded version and enjoys higher precision, range and destruction power than its previous version, said Fars.
Also, Vahidi announced on Monday that the country has successfully test-fired the home-made Zafar missile, and pointed out that Iran's military units will soon be equipped with Zafar missiles which are "the fastest cruise missiles in the world," said Fars without further details.
"These missiles together with our other systems can remarkably promote the country's air defense power," he said.
Iranian Army Commander-in-Chief Ataollah Salehi said Monday that Iran's army support all regional countries and it is a deterrent to the world's bullying powers, the IRNA reported.
Some non-regional forces try to occupy the regional countries and the occupiers term the Islamic Republic as an aggressive country, but the Islamic Republic is ready to help its regional friends, Salehi told IRNA on the sidelines of a ceremony held in Tehran to mark the national Army Day.
No country has ever seen an act of aggression by Iran, he added.
Source: Xinhua.
Link: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-04/18/c_13834689.htm.
An Open Letter to Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan
9 years ago
Ahmadinejad saying that the Iranian army is the most "powerful in the world" and "undefeatable" is arrogance on his part.
ReplyDeleteIn Islam it is unacceptable to say such things, especially when they are sincere.
Allah can easily strike down the Iranian army and make it the weakest in the world, if nonexistent!