TEHRAN — Iranian Army Aviation Chief Yousof Ghorbani has hailed the achievements of his forces, saying the Army Aviation will attain missiles with ranges of 20 and 100 kilometers.

“God willing, we will attain 20- and 100-kilometers missiles very soon,” General Ghorbani said during a ceremony on Sunday, Mehr reported.

The Iranian Army Aviation has gained salient achievements in defense and security sections, including precision guided and 8.5km missiles, he stated.

He said his forces are currently a powerful arm of the Islamic Republic, adding, “The Army Aviation has gained great achievements since the glorious victory of the Islamic Revolution in defending the country with all its power.”

In recent years, Iran’s military power has been turned into a contentious issue by the U.S. and its allies. The Islamic Republic maintains that its military might poses no threat to other countries, and that its defense doctrine is merely based on deterrence.

General Ghorbani put the number of parts and equipment manufactured by the Army Aviation at 435.

He pointed out that the Army Aviation offers aerial emergency services to 18 Iranian provinces.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the general hailed to the bravery of martyr Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani and commemorated his name and memory in the fight against terrorism.

“Blessed is martyr Lieutenant General Hajj Qassem Soleimani, who was martyred by the most hated people,” he said in reference to the assassination of Soleimani at direct order of U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year.

On January 3, Trump ordered strikes that killed General Soleimani, chief of the IRGC Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), as well as eight other people.

In retaliation for the assassination of General Soleimani, who headed the IRGC Quds Force, an Iranian ballistic-missile strike on January 8 targeted a U.S. base in Iraq housing U.S. forces, leaving some 110 U.S. troops suffering from traumatic brain injuries.

Majid Takht-Ravanchi, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, has blasted the assassination as an obvious example of state terrorism pursued in gross violation of the fundamental principles of international law.

“The United States’ brutal and cowardly assassination of Major General Qassem Soleimani, the champion of fighting terrorists in the region, and his companions, while on an official visit to neighboring Iraq, is an obvious example of state terrorism pursued in gross violation of the fundamental principles of international law, entailing criminal responsibility of its perpetrators,” Takht-Ravanchi said on Friday.

MH/PA