Iran Army effectively primed by indigenous knowhow: Commander

Commander of Iran’s Army Major General Ataollah Salehi says Iranian Armed Forces have been equipped effectively in the face of all threats thanks to inclusive, indigenous knowhow.

Salehi made the remark in the southwestern province of Hormozgan, where he witnessed parades by the Army, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and other security forces besides paying a visit to a display of the Navy’s achievements.

“Our country’s Armed Forces are capable of confronting any threat in the region thanks to their possession of defensive indigenous knowledge,” he told reporters.

The commander considered such knowledge to be much more valuable than military hardware. “Arms and equipment are of value and credibility [only] when the knowledge for their preservation and application is at hand, too,” he noted.

Salehi regretted that some regional countries had become dependent on arms imports from abroad, likening them to “a patient who is unaware of their own sickness.”

In most countries, Salehi said, armies were only serving their respective ruling structures, adding that this had turned them into “disposable” forces. Non-reliance on the populace would render countries incapable of defense in the face of enemies, he said.

“Today, the [Iranian] Armed Forces are on the frontline of defending the holy causes of [Iran’s] Islamic Revolution on the international arena. These forces rely on the power of the people,” he said.

Iran’s defense forces rely strongly on indigenous expertise and manufacturing facilities for the production of defensive equipment. Each year, the country inaugurates a host of new projects and hardware developed with reliance on domestic capabilities.

Iran has asserted that it only uses its naval might for defensive purposes and to signal a message of peace and security to other nations.

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