TEHRAN – Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan said on Friday that Iran’s military arsenal is at the service of the resistance front, noting it equips the front with a muscle much more powerful than that of the enemy. 

“The (military) capabilities are not only in the service of our armed forces, but at the disposal of the resistance front…,” said Hossein Dehqan, addressing thousands of Friday prayers in Tehran. 
Tehran has been using the term “resistance front” in the widest sense as of 2011 when public upheavals in Syria developed into a full-blown war fought by numerous foreign-backed fronts. 
Now, in addition to Palestinian groups and Hezbollah, it includes Syria, which has been in war with militants for more than five years.
Hezbollah has ground boots fighting in the Syrian battlefield, while Iran plays an advisory role in the front. 
“It is interesting to know that the destructive power of the weaponry we put at the disposal of the resistance (front) is much stronger than that of militants are provided with by world powers and top militaries,” Dehqan explained. 
From a sheer importer of weaponry prior to the 1979 revolution and after that during Iraq’s war against Iran in the 1980s, the Islamic Republic managed to develop its homegrown military industry, culminating in families of short-, medium-, and long-range missiles it has in its arsenal. 
“Today, our missile capability has grown to a level that we are able to respond proportionately to threats with high destructive power … in any location,” the Iranian military chief stressed. 
Reportedly, during the 33-day war in 2006 fought by Hezbollah and Israel, Hezbollah deployed made-in Iran missiles to sink an Israeli destroyer. 
Dehqan’s remarks come at a time when military cooperation between Iran and Russia, both supporting Syria, has entered a new phase, with the Russian air force flying long-range bombers and fighters from the Hamadan air base in western Iran. 

AK/PA