TEHRAN- The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Ground Force has staged a tactical war exercise in Kerman, a desert province south of Iran.

The drill began on Tuesday morning in the presence of Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri.

“Today, the enemies are shedding the blood of children in Gaza and committing genocide. However, the killing of innocent people will not be a sign of victory for the Zionists who were defeated in the unparalleled and surprise operation on October 7,” he said, referring to Operation Al-Aqsa Storm conducted by the Palestinian Hamas resistance movement against the occupying entity.

“Definitely, the victory of the Palestinian nation is near with the resilience of people and the power of resistance front fighters,” he asserted.

Bagheri went on to say that if Israeli crimes continued, the real faces of the child-killing Zionist usurpers and their criminal American and hypocritical European backers would come to light.

Nothing will halt the adversaries’ atrocities and persecution in Palestine, he said, where they have demonstrated their cruelty.

The Iranian Armed Forces will prove their mettle in combat and would stop at nothing to protect the nation’s security, the country’s top general added.

He continued, “If there is sustainable deterrence in our country, it is thanks to the presence, steadfastness and resilience of the armed personnel.” 

“The deterrence was built on the latest scientific and tactical achievements as well as up-to-date equipment on the edge of global technology, which were developed by the country’s scientists and youth,” he averred.

Furthermore, Bagheri stressed that the Iranian Armed Forces’ might is now well-known, and the opponents are well aware of it.

General Bagheri also paid a visit to the mausoleum of late Iranian commander Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, who was assassinated in a U.S. strike in Iraq in January 2020.

In an homage to the late commander, General Bagheri stated that General Soleimani’s legacy has motivated Palestinian resistance forces to oppose and defeat the Zionist regime. 

“The enemies must bear in mind that the youth of Muslim countries and the resistance axis won’t remain silent and won't allow anything from the foundation of arrogance to remain,” the top general stated in response to the current situation in Gaza. 

The IRGC Ground Force, comprising artillery, rockets, and rangers, is participating in the tactical military drills near Kerman.

Bagheri attended the exercise to assess the offensive, defensive, and operational preparedness of the Iranian military.

Iranian authorities have made it clear time and again that Iran would never negotiate away its defense capabilities and will never hesitate to bolster its military might, particularly its missile capacity, which is only intended for defense.

On October 7, when Hamas began its successful campaign in the occupied territory, Israel started a brutal war on Gaza.

The Tel Aviv regime has murdered 13,300 Palestinians since the war began, including 5,600 children and 3,550 women, and injured over 31,000 more in Gaza.

Additionally, it has established a “complete siege” on the coastal sliver, depriving the more than two million Palestinian residents of their water, food, fuel, and power.