Iran ready to hold joint air defense drills with friendly countries: Commander

The chief commander of Iran’s Air Defense Force says the country is ready to share its defense experience with friendly countries and stage joint exercises with them.

According to Press TV, addressing a group of foreign military attachés in Tehran on Monday, Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard said the Islamic Republic’s message for the allied and friendly countries is “peace and friendship”.

The Air Defense Force is prepared to promote military cooperation with the allied states in various fields such as training, exchange of technical and operational experiences, and holding joint war games, he added.

“The Air Defense Force is tasked with securing Iran’s airspace. By God’s grace and efforts of my colleagues, it has managed to turn the country’s skies into a safe place for friendly countries within the framework of international law and an unsafe place for hostile parties,” Sabahifard said.

“Deterrence as the defense doctrine of the Islamic Republic of Iran hinges upon amicable and mutual relations with all countries of the world, especially friendly and neighboring states in West Asia,” he added.

He also said that the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution set off the stage for a change in the unjust world order and collapse of unilateralism in international relations.

The emergence of an Islamic system in Iran seriously challenged the interests of superpowers, especially in the strategic West Asia region, he stated.

He said Iran’s Armed Forces, while enjoying full and complete preparedness, employ state-of-the-art military gear and rely on homegrown capabilities, emphasizing that unconventional and mass destruction weapons have no place in Iran’s military doctrine under a fatwa (religious decree) issued by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

The top general also underscored that Iran attaches paramount importance to self-sufficiency and utilization of domestically-developed missiles.

Deterrence in the defense strategy of the Air Defense Force constitutes the ability to respond quickly and decisively to any hostile action of the enemy, he added.

Brigadier General Sabahifard also explained that his force, in cooperation with the Iranian Defense Ministry and knowledge-based firms, has managed to diversify its medium-altitude, long-endurance systems over the past two decades, and ensure promising deterrence.

He said the Air Defense Force, at the front line of countering potential military threats, relies on an integrated command and control network, properly protects Iran’s skies and monitors air traffic.

The commander emphasized that the force employs cutting-edge technologies in the field of telecommunications and develops secure communication systems, while it maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information by establishing data communication links between relevant systems and equipment.

ME