Iranian President Rouhani reviews the military parade. (AP/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Iran showcased its military might in a parade, while calling for the death of America and Israel.
Iran marked annual Army Day, which celebrates the establishment of the Islamic Republic’s military, with a display of weaponry and calls for death to Israel and America.
Different units of Iran’s armed forces marched in uniform before top commanders “in a show of military might and defensive power,” Iran’s Fars News reports.
The ceremony took place at the mausoleum of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic, in southern Tehran. President Hassan Rouhani and senior military and government officials as well as foreign diplomats, military attaches and reporters attended.
A televised broadcast of the parade underscored the repeated cries of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
“If Israel makes a mistake,” the announcer on Iran television said during the broadcast, as heavy trucks carrying armored personnel carriers rolled past, “those in Tel Aviv and Haifa will not sleep at night, not one person.”
Iranian defense analysts and military observers say that Iran’s war games and its advancements in weapons production have proved to be a deterrent to its enemies, “especially at a time of heightened threats by the US.” Yet Iranian officials repeatedly claim that the country’s military and arms programs serve defensive purposes and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.
Stressing the defensive nature of Iran’s military doctrine, Rouhani said, “Our strategy has always been the strategy of active deterrence; this deterrence is aimed at independence, peace and security in our country and the regional states and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces are the most powerful armed force in the region in light of their self-belief, self-reliance and innovation.”
“Our great nation never makes an aggression, but it will never accept aggression,” Fars News quotes him as saying.
Israel Will Defend it Citizens
Iran’s missiles on parade on Army Day. (AP/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Responding to these threats and relating to the latest developments regarding Iran’s military power, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting that “Israel views with utmost gravity the supply of S-300 missiles from Russia to Iran, especially at a time when Iran is stepping up its aggression in the region and around the borders of the State of Israel. Israel also views with utmost gravity the fact that there is no reference to this aggression in the agreement being made between the major powers and Iran. There is no stipulation that this aggression be halted, whether at the start of the agreement or as a condition for the lifting of sanctions.”
Relating to the parade in Tehran, Netanyahu said that “every year the missiles are bigger and enhanced – in accuracy, strength and deadliness; however, one thing does not change. What does not change is the inscription ‘Death to Israel‘ on the missiles. Against the threats that I have described, Israel will do whatever is necessary to defend the security of the state and its citizens.”
By: Max Gelber, United with Israel
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