Iran to Mark National Army Day with Nationwide Parades

Source : Fars News Agency

In Tehran, the ceremony will be held at the mausoleum of the Founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Imam Khomeini, in Southern Tehran.

Senior Iranian officials as well as a host of top military commanders will attend the ceremony.

The Iranian Army plans to display its latest weaponry and military products and achievements in the annual parades.

Earlier, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said his forces plan to display their latest achievements on the National Army Day.

"The new achievements of the force (Navy) will be unveiled on Farvardin 29 (April 18)."

Iran's Air Defense Force also plans to display its latest equipment and capabilities, including its latest Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in the parades.

Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli announced on Wednesday that his base will show its latest achievements and different types of radar systems in the Army Day parades here in Tehran tomorrow.

"Also in the parades, we will display reconnaissance and defense drones which have been designed and manufactured with the assistance of the Defense Industries," Esmayeeli added.

The commander said that UAVs are considered as a covert defense layer and can be used for deterrence and other purposes.

The Iranian Army Ground Force also plans to unveil three new products.

Commander of the Iranian Army Ground Force Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan told a press conference on the threshold of the country's National Army Day that "these achievements are in the communication, simulators and air defense fields".

The Iranian Army has recently test-fired different types of newly-developed missiles and torpedoes and tested a large number of its home-made weapons, tools and equipments, including submarines, military ships, artillery, choppers, aircraft, UAVs and air defense and electronic systems, during massive military drills.

Defense analysts and military observers say that Iran's wargames and its advancements in weapons production have proved as a deterrent factor, specially at a time of heightened threats by Israel and the US.