Sacred Defense Era (6)

In the aftermath of 9/11, the US invaded Afghanistan and Iraq, under baseless pretexts, implementing its plot to deploy military forces across the region. Currently, US meddlesome policies have entered a new phase under the pretext of the so-called war on terror. Many military theorists believe that the ever-increasing presence of the US in the region and Iran’s surrounding environment is in line with the US opposition against Iran.

Under these conditions, observers believe that Iran’s military doctrine pivots round defense and deterrence.

In the past decade, the US has promoted Iranophobia, selling billions of dollars of weapons and jetfighters to Persian Gulf littoral Arab states. The intensification of this trend shows that arrogant powers intend to challenge Iran in the realm of security. Given the vastness of these threats, one of the important features of Iran’s defense doctrine is to boost military capacities in order to respond to threats.

In the past three decades, Islamic Republic of Iran has put behind the eight-year imposed war, in addition to economic sanctions, while advancing its defense doctrine based on the principle of deterrence.

Currently, Iran’s military power plays an important role in regional security equations and in maintenance of stability and security. With a glimpse at Iran’s military capacities, it can be said that Islamic Republic of Iran maintains a significant capacity in the face of surrounding threats.

Meanwhile, Iran has never waged a war. However, it has practically shown that it powerfully responds to any invader.

Maintenance of security is in general the function of two key principles. The first principle is indigenization of know-how, and expertise in defense industry. If a country would not benefit from this element, it would be dependent on others in the defense sector and would face the repercussions of this strategic dependence. The second principle in relation to maintenance of security is the enhancement of defensive capacities.

Promotion of defensive and deterrence power of Iran’s military forces has currently turned into a strategic principle.

The US Strategic and International Studies Think Tank has confessed that despite the wide-scale sanctions imposed on Iran, this country has managed to significantly boost its defense capacity. According to the analysts of this think tank, Iran’s military power has been planned to safeguard national security and frontier regions. In this model, Iran protects its territorial integrity and has fixed its status as one of the main powers in the Persian Gulf region.

In the view of Islamic Iran, military power is not for leveling threats against others and/or occupation. In fact, in Iran’s view, military power is tantamount to maintenance of the ability to stand up against potential invaders and to deter threats.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, in his recent visit to Iran’s military industries named enhancement of defense capacity as the country’s inalienable right, while emphasizing reinforcement of Iran’s defense potentials.

The Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, has reminded: While the world’s bullying powers show no mercy, openly bombarding a wedding ceremony and a hospital under the pretext of campaign against terrorism, spilling the blood of hundreds of innocent people, and are not being held accountable by any organization for the crimes that they have committed; the national defense capacities should be enhanced so that bullying powers would sense a menace…”

The Leader of Islamic Revolution has noted that: We consider a number of restrictions for expansion of defense industry; and the weapons of mass destruction such as chemical and nuclear weapons are prohibited based on Islamic beliefs.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, based on its religious and human beliefs and defense doctrine is opposed to production of weapons of mass destruction. The Leader of Islamic Revolution has on several occasions put emphasis on prohibition of production and usage of nuclear weapons, based on the divine religion of Islam. In a message to the international disarmament meetings which were convened in Tehran on April 2010, the Leader of Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, underlined the prohibition of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.

President Hassan Rohani, in an address to UN General Assembly on September 2013, on behalf of 120 Non-Aligned Movement member states, called for the immediate start of talks for conclusion of a comprehensive international convention for prohibition of production, proliferation, accumulation, and usage of nuclear weapons, and provision of grounds for complete destruction of atomic weapons.

These transparent stands once again prove that Iran’s military power serves peace and security.

MR/SS