Iran worried about West/Holding war games just In case

Iran plans to launch a large-scale military exercise next month to prepare its military forces to be able to repel any possible offensive by the country's enemies, a top commander says.

The joint drill, conducted by Iran's ground forces and cooperation of some of the units of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), will "improve the force's defensive capabilities" Commander of Iran's Ground Forces Brig. Gen. Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan said on Saturday.

It will also"boost the region's security," the commander told a meeting of servicemen in Tehran.

Both the United States and its close ally Israel have refused to rule out the possibility of a military attack against the country of more than 70 million people, should Tehran not halt its enrichment activities.

Tel Aviv claims Tehran's nuclear program poses a threat to its security. This is while Iran's nuclear activities have been inspected more than any other nuclear country by the UN watchdog and there has been no evidence to justify Israeli concerns.

Iran has not initiated a war with any country for more than a century.

Unlike Tehran, Tel Aviv is the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East and has so far refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Moreover, Israel has been involved in many of the military conflicts in the region in its 60 years of occupation history.

Tehran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has called for the removal of all weapons of mass destruction from across the globe.

Many believe that Tel Aviv's enmity is rooted in a military doctrine that says Israel must maintain absolute military superiority in the region.

"The maintenance of Israel's 'qualitative military edge' over any combination of its potential adversaries has been a cornerstone of US Middle East policy for more than a decade," Shawn L. Twing, editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs says.



Editors note: Although the Iranian military believes this war game will serve as a warning to the U.S. and Israel, western intelligence agencies are looking forward to the games because they provide a unique opportunity to gauge the capabilities,readiness, strength and command-control and communications links used by Iranian high command. Undoubtedly secret and (not-so-secret) intelligence gathering platforms will be moved into the area to glean anything of value to U.S. and Israeli military planners.  Thanks  Iran!