TEHRAN — The Iranian Army on Saturday concluded a three-day military exercise, which kicked off in Iran’s southern waters on Thursday.

A variety of surface and subsurface submarine units of the Navy, such as destroyers, missile launchers and Tariq, Ghadir and Fateh-class submarines displayed their strength during the last day of the drills, codenamed Zolfaqar-99.

The exercise was attended by Army Chief Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi and a number of other top commanders of the Army as well as observers from Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Base.

The Army Air Force displayed its aircraft which accompanied the surface and subsurface submarines.

The three-day war game showcased some of the latest achievements of the Army’s units, which were produced to counter the threats by Iran’s enemies.

Speaking to reporters after the drills, General Mousavi said the homegrown productions of the Army were successfully tested during the Zolfaqar-99 exercise.

“What we witnessed was a joint exercise of the Army’s quadratic forces and the Air Defense Base which, praise be to God, achieved almost all of its goals through very good coordination,” Mousavi said, according to Mehr.

The Iranian military announced on Friday that it has intercepted three U.S. aircraft that had intruded into Iran’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in violation of rules that regulate large-scale naval exercises.

The commander warned the enemies not to make any miscalculation in the region as the Iranian armed forces enjoy the utmost readiness.

“The message of the military exercise for enemies and those who hold ill will in their minds is that they should never test the Islamic Republic of Iran and never follow their miscalculations because they will regret the response,” he asserted.

The commander also pointed out that the Iranian forces only showed part of their capabilities in the face of possible threats.

“Our defense industry and universities are continually helping to build new and updated equipment,” said the general, adding, “Collaboration [among armed forces] is increasing and thank God we are completely prepared.”

The Zolfaqar-99 drills kicked off under the command of the Army’s Zolfaqar base. It covered an area of two million square kilometers in the eastern waters of the Strait of Hormuz, Makran coast, the Sea of Oman and North India Ocean up to 10 degrees north.

On Thursday, F-27 and P3F aircraft as well as reconnaissance drones conducted naval patrols to monitor the drills.

Iran’s F-4 fighter-bombers conducted long-range flights from their bases to attend the war game. They destroyed surface targets using optimized precision strike missiles. The F-4 Phantoms stroke at mobile targets at sea and bombed their designated targets on the coast.

Navy commandos and marines carried out a complex operation on the Makran coast, making use of vessels, aircraft and amphibious personnel carriers backed up by bombers.

On Friday, the Army successfully fired an anti-ship coast-to-sea cruise missile, dubbed “Qader”, at a mock enemy vessel over 200 kilometers from the coast.

Another anti-ship cruise missile, dubbed “Nasr”, was fired from Iran’s Najm missile boat to hit designated target in the southern waters of Iran.

The Army’s first combat drone, named “Kaman-12”, also conducted surveillance operations during the joint military exercise.

The Iranian military announced on Friday that it has intercepted three U.S. aircraft that had intruded into Iran’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in violation of rules that regulate large-scale naval exercises.

According to the military’s statement, the aircraft, including P-8 Poseidon and MQ-9 and RQ-4 drones, were intercepted by a domestically-manufactured Karrar turbojet-powered drone, after they ignored warnings to stay away from the drills area.

MH/PA