UPI: An Iranian military official said his forces wrapped up a war games exercise in southern Iran meant to deter a hypothetical ground invasion. TEHRAN, Feb. 6 (UPI) — An Iranian military official said his forces wrapped up a war games exercise in southern Iran meant to deter a hypothetical ground invasion.
Brig. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the ground forces in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, said commando teams and aerial combat squads successfully defended against “the hypothetical enemies’ armored and mechanized columns,” Iran’s state-funded broadcaster Press TV reports.
Washington and its allies have said all options are on the table to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear-weapons state. Iranian officials last weekend said Israel was bluffing about eliminating a perceived nuclear threat through a military strike.
GALLERY: 2011 Iran Defense Week
Iran also dispatched its 1,420-ton destroyer Jamaran to the Bab al-Mandab Strait between Yemen from Somalia.
“The … destroyer is equipped with modern radar systems and electronic warfare capabilities,” said Press TV. “The vessel has also been equipped with torpedoes and modern naval cannons.”
Iranian officials said the destroyer was on a goodwill mission meant to counter “Iranophobia.” Military officials said the navy’s presence in the region wasn’t meant as an act of hostility.
Iran said its navy rescued an oil tanker seized by pirates operating near the Gulf of Aden off of Yemen’s coast last weekend
