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29 March 2024

'Biggest ever' air drills launched by Iran

Published
By Reuters

Iran launched military drills across half the country on Monday, warning it would act against aggressors less than a week after Washington accused Iranian warplanes of firing on a US drone.

The manoeuvres will take place this week across 850,000 square kilometres (330,000 square miles) of Iran's northeast, east, and southeast regions, Iranian media reported.

Some 8,000 elite and regular army troops will participate, backed by bombers and fighter planes, while missile, artillery and surveillance systems will be tested, various media said.

Played out against a backdrop of high tension between the United States and Iran over Tehran's nuclear programme, the 'Velayat-4' manoeuvres will involve the biggest air drills the country has ever held, Iran's English-language Press TV reported.

"These drills convey a message of peace and security to regional countries," Shahrokh Shahram, the spokesman for the exercises, told the broadcaster on Monday. "At the same time they send out a strong warning to those threatening Iran."

Last week, the U.S. Pentagon said Iranian planes opened fire on an unarmed U.S. drone over international waters on November 1.  

Iran said it had repelled "an enemy's unmanned aircraft" violating its airspace.
 
ashington, the EU and other bodies have imposed sanctions on Iran's oil trade to press it to halt nuclear research the West fears is aimed at developing the capability to build a nuclear bomb. Iran denies the charge, saying its nuclear work is purely for peaceful purposes. 

Both the United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran, if diplomacy fails to resolve the row.
 
 FORWARD PLANNING

Although the Iranian air drills come just days after the Pentagon's announcement, the exercises appear to have been planned well in advance. 

In September Farzad Esmaili, commander of the army's air defence force, told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) that Iran was planning a large-scale air drill in coming months.  

Various radar and other fixed, tactical and airborne surveillance systems would participate, Esmaili told state news agency IRNA on Thursday.

The exercise will also test bombers, refuelling planes and unmanned aircraft, Esmaili said. 

ISNA said on Monday that F-4, F-5, F-7, and F-14 fighters would participate.

Shahram told IRNA on Sunday the drills would also focus on improving coordination between Iran's military and the elite Is lamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

On Sunday, Revolutionary Guards commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said Iran believed the U.S. drone was gathering intelligence on oil tankers off its shores, according to the Mehr news agency.  

Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Guards, said his forces had acted well in repelling the drone.

"If such intrusions take place in the future, we will protect our airspace," Jafari said on Sunday, according to Press TV.
 
Iranian officials have threatened to strike U.S. military bases in the region and target Israel if the country is attacked. 
 
Iran has carried out a number of military simulations this year, including the "Great Prophet 7" missile exercises in July.  

In August, Iran announced that it had tested a short-range missile with a new guidance system capable of striking land and sea targets. 

Meanwhile, Iran expressed hope on Monday that a planned meeting with the U.N. nuclear watchdog next month would lead to a "framework of cooperation" on a possible visit by inspectors to the Parchin military site.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes Tehran may have conducted explosives tests that could help develop nuclear weapons at Parchin and may be cleaning up the site to remove evidence. Iran has denied this, saying Parchin is a conventional military complex. 

IAEA chief Yukiya Amano has pressed Iran to grant his inspectors immediate access to Parchin.

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi expressed optimism over talks due to be held on December 13 between Iran and the IAEA in Tehran.

"We are hopeful that with the positive step Iran has taken in resolving this issue ... this meeting will identify a framework of cooperation in regards to the issue of a visit to Parchin," Salehi was quoted as saying by the Iranian Students' News Agency 

Salehi did not give details, but Iran has previously said a framework deal on how the watchdog should conduct its investigation must be agreed before any agency visit to Parchin.

A series of meetings this year between the IAEA and Iran, the most recent in August, has failed to make concrete progress and Western diplomats have accused Tehran of playing for time.
 
 Amano said in Baghdad on Sunday that "activities at Parchin are ongoing", a reference to Iran's alleged clean-up work, although he did not give further details.  
 
Salehi repeated Iran's denial on Monday. "The idea that it is possible to clean up signs of pollution is not acceptable from a technical perspective," he said. "It is not possible to clean up signs of nuclear pollution."

The IAEA has said it hoped the talks in Tehran would produce an agreement to allow it to resume a long-stalled investigation into possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear programme.

But Vienna-based Western diplomats, speaking before Salehi's comments, expressed scepticism that the new meeting would yield a breakthrough. 
 
"Our initial impression is that there is no indication from Iran that they are prepared to engage any more or any differently on substance than they have in the past year," one envoy said.
 
Amano also said on Sunday the IAEA had an "essential role" to play in breaking the stalemate.

 "It is in the interest of Iran and the international community," Amano said. "That is why I think there is some big reason that Iran will get cooperative for us. But at the same time, the situation is very difficult and worrying and I do not want to speculate."