A photo slide show from the Web page of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah
Seyed Ali Khamenei. He is seen attending the graduation of military cadets.
Kayhan, Islamic Republic of Iran
NATO Will Fail to Contain
Islamic and Iranian Influence
With
plans for a missile shield primarily aimed at defending against Iranian
missiles, are NATO and the United States attempting to "contain Islam?"
According to this "news item" from Iran's state-run Kayhan
newspaper, Tehran is ready to counter any threat from the West's quickly-diminishing
military power.
TEHRAN: On Sunday, Defense
Minister Brigadier General Ahmad
Vahidi warned that Iran would teach an "unforgettable lesson" to
any aggressor. "In a variety of defense and combat areas, the power and
might of the Islamic Republic of Iran should act as a serious warning to those with
the crude dream of mounting aggression against this territory," Vahidi
told reporters.
"The military power and
might of Iran's armed forces are a source of honor for Iranians and all of the
world's lovers of the Islamic Revolution," he said.
According to Vahidi, recent
anti-aircraft drills used domestically designed and produced weapons built by
innovative young Iranian experts. "The Islamic Republic's armed forces
have achieved powerful self-sufficiency in anti-aircraft defense - and thanks
to the skills and capabilities of our own experts, the production of the
military hardware we need."
Defense Minister Vahidi said that
NATO seeks to erect a military arc across the region in a bid to stop Islam's expansion
and prevalence, so as to contain the growing influence of Iran's Islamic Revolution.
But to no avail.
"The main goal of NATO's
military attack on Iraq and Afghanistan was, indeed, to confront an expanding
Islam and the Islamic Revolution's influence. But ten years after their
military invasions, they've gained nothing but 1.5 million people killed in
Iraq and a million others in Afghanistan."
He added that NATO is headed
toward collapse and that its military power has already lost much of its influence
in the region. "No one in the region today talks of NATO's might and
power."
In a bid to retain its power,
the defense minister said that the world arrogance seeks to stoke sedition in various
parts of the world, particularly the Islamic states of the Middle East. Tehran,
Vahidi said, would soon launch a number of newly-designed satellites into
space. "We are building new satellites and in the near future, a number
will be launched into space," he said.
In late August, Iran had
planned to launch its second domestically-built satellite, the Rasad 1
(Observation 1), but it was postponed until March 2011 (the second half of the
Iranian year). In February 2009, Iran launched its first domestically-built
satellite Omid (Hope).
After Moscow's refusal to
deliver S-300 [surface to air] missiles, Vahidi also said Iran was designing
its own. "The production of the S-300 missile is now being pursued domestically,
and is now in the design process," he said.
The minister reiterated that every
piece of advanced weaponry and hardware used during Iran's recent maneuvers
was domestically produced. He also said that they demonstrated the high level
of development of Iranian fighting and defensive capabilities, and noted that Iran's
military strength amazes and fills with pride Iranians and friends of the
Islamic Revolution around the world.
Five-days of military
maneuvers kicked off last Tuesday with the aim of testing Iranian air defenses.
The anti-aircraft drills were held near the nation's strategic sites to assess
the performance of newly-erected air defense systems and Iran's rapid response capacity
to counter potential aerial attack.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Military officials have said
that the drills were meant to convey a message of peace and friendship to
neighboring countries - and a firm warning to enemies.
Meanwhile, the top military
aide to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Brigadier General Yahya Rahim
Safavi, said that a new world power that will destroy the grandeur and glory of
the Western powers is on the rise in the east.
"Power is moving from the
globe's West to East and will transform the East within this century," General
Safavi said. He pointed to Iran as among the emerging Eastern powers, saying
that the nation's rapid growth and progress has aroused deep concern in the
West.
General Safavi underlined Iran's
national integrity, power and influence in the Middle East balance of power,
including Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Lebanon to demonstrate the clout of
the Islamic Republic in many areas politically and internationally.
