PHOTO: Iranian soldiers march in Tehran on Wednesday
Iran’s military used a Wednesday parade in Tehran to issue more challenges to the US.
The commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, led the way with the demand that the US navy and warplanes must leave the Persian Gulf: “[We should] tell the Americans that they had better stop wasting the American people’s assets and wealth by their malicious and harmful presence.”
Jafari said the US should go to the Bay of Pigs, the site of its ill-fated invasion of Cuba in 1961, for “adventurism or a muscle show”.
Other commanders supported Jafari’s comments in Iran’s annual commemoration of its “Sacred Defense” against Iraq in a war between 1980 and 1988. The Lieutenant Commander of the IRGC Navy, General Ali Reza Tangsiri, said, “We regard the Persian Gulf as our home, and believe that no alien (forces) should be present in this region.”
Tangsiri said that, in addition to high-profile detentions of British and American naval personnel in recent years, Iranian forces had intercepted and held Canadian and Australian naval units.
And the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, vowed that Iran “has never intended to be aggressive but will give a powerful response to any aggressor”.
The Revolutionary Guards unveiled new missile defense systems during the parade, declaring that the Zulfiqar surface-to-surface missile has “pinpoint accuracy” and a range of 750 km (465 miles).
The parade also featured components of S-300 missile defense systems, delivered by Russia.
Lifting a suspension since 2010 of the deal for the S-300s, Moscow has provided elements since the spring. However, the systems are not yet operational, despite some claims in the Iranian media.
