Iranian Basij Forces Test Military Preparedness in New Drills TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Basij (volunteer) forces staged massive wargames in the country's Northern province of Semnan on Thursday and Friday to test their military preparedness to defend the country

Over 10,000 rapid reaction forces of Basij participated in the 'Towards Beitol-Moqaddas (Jerusalem)' drills on November 29-30 throughout the province

Commander of Semnan's Corps General Ali Ostadhosseini said the drill aimed at fostering the readiness of Basiji voluntary forces and achieving the high goals of Islamic Republic of Iran system

"We should always be ready in the scene because the enemies are frightened from Iranian people and Basiji voluntary forces' readiness," he said

Earlier this month, Commander of Iran's Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi announced that "rapid reaction battalions" of the Basij are due to carry out a series of exercises in four Iranian provinces

In October, Iranian Basij forces staged similar exercises in the country's Western province of Kermanshah

Ten thousand Basij forces were present in the drills held in Tangeh Konesh region

The exercises in Kermanshah came a few days after the IRGC and Basij staged three-day-long 'Towards Beitol-Moqaddas' drills in the capital city of Tehran

Commander of Tehran's Corps General Mohsen Kazzemeini said 150 IRGC battalions participated in the drills, adding that the exercises were conducted in response to the recent soft and security threats against Iran

by: farsnews

Iranian, Russian Officials Confer on Caspian Sea Legal Regime TEHRAN (FNA)- Senior Iranian and Russian diplomats in a meeting in Moscow conferred on the two countries' stances on the legal regime of the Caspian Sea, and stressed that issues related to the lake should be resolved by all the littoral states.

During the meeting between Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehdi Akhoundzadeh and head of the Russian delegation in Caspian legal regime talks Igor Bratchikov in Moscow on Thursday, the two sides underlined the necessity for resolving the issues of the Caspian Sea by its littoral states.

The discussions showed proximity of stances between Iran and Russia on the Caspian Sea issues and their determination for expansion of multilateral cooperation in the sea and succeeding in holding talks on Caspian Legal regime.

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea.

Caspian Sea littoral states consist of Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan. They have been debating their share in the Caspian Sea legal regime since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

The Caspian Sea legal regime is based on two agreements signed between Iran and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1921 and 1940. Although under the international law, no state can defy any agreements, which came into being before its establishment, the three new littoral states, established after the collapse of the Soviet Union, do not recognize the prior treaties, triggering a debate on the future status of the sea

by: farsnews

Iranian Speaker: Iraq Enjoys Great Potentials for Playing Key Role in Region TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani underlined the good and brotherly ties and cooperation between Tehran and Baghdad, and said Iraq as an important country enjoys the necessary potentials for playing a key role in the region.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Osama al-Nujaifi in Iraq, Larijani described Iraq as an important country in the region, and said Iraq enjoys a democratic system and great potentials to play a key role in the region.

He also described Tehran-Baghdad cooperation as being multidimensional and multilateral, and said Iran-Iraq parliamentary ties can lead to reinforcement of mutual interactions.

Underlining the need for mutual economic, cultural and parliamentary cooperation as a strategy to settle regional issues, Larijani said he had discussed different issues with his Iraqi counterpart.

Larijani left for Iraq on Tuesday in a bid to discuss bilateral ties as well as regional and international developments with officials of the neighboring country.

Iran and Iraq have enjoyed growing ties ever since the overthrow of the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, in 2003.

Both sides are working on a series of plans to take wide strides in expanding their ties, in economic fields in particular.

In July, Iran boosted its power supplies to Iraq and exported 1,139mw of power to its western neighbor.

by: farsnews

Commander: Iran Supports Oppressed People of Gaza TEHRAN (FNA)- Lieutenant Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Hossein Salami reiterated Iran's support for the innocent and oppressed people of Gaza, and warned the Israeli leaders against any new incursion into the region.

Salami said the Islamic Iran is supporter of Gaza's innocent and oppressed people, and the victory of Palestinians against Israel in Gaza is a sign of Iran's support and power against the Israeli leaders' crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza.

He warned the Israeli leaders against aggression on Gaza and killing defenseless people living in the Palestinian territories.

He said that the Israeli leaders saw strength of the Islamic army which could create an incredible victory in Gaza in line with the Islamic Awakening movements in the region.

The commander said enemies acted against Iran through soft wars, economic sanctions and many other ways but they see Iran as a strong country in the region.

Israel triggered an 8-day fighting by assassinating the military chief of the ruling Hamas group on November 14 followed by dozens of airstrikes on Gaza.

In response, Palestinian groups fired over 1,500 missiles and rockets at Israel.

Palestinian resistance groups targeted Tel Aviv and areas near Jerusalem for the first time in the history of confrontations between the two sides, launching a rocket attack in a major escalation of hostilities as Israel pressed forward with relentless airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Israel called up thousands of reservists and massed troops along the border with Gaza, signaling a ground invasion of the densely populated seaside strip could be imminent.

But the attack on the Israeli settlement, along with an earlier strike on Zionists' capital Tel Aviv, frightened the Israeli regime, making it drop its aggression plans and ask for third party mediation.

Eventually, a Cairo-mediated ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Wednesday November 21, ended the Israeli attacks, which killed more than 165 Palestinians and injured about 1,269 others.

by: farsnews

DM: Iranian Experts Able to Design, Produce, Overhaul Military Equipment TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi praised Iran's giant and unbelievable advancements in defensive fields, and said Iranian experts are able to design, produce and repair different hi-tech military equipments.

Vahidi referred to the joining of two hovercrafts and two Ghadir-class submarines to Iran's Navy on Wednesday, and said the Iranian experts have succeeded to design, produce and repair advanced military equipment.

He told the Islamic republic news agency that the two hovercrafts and the submarines were examples of the endeavor of the domestic experts which were delivered to the Navy.

The minister said that the experts of Iran's defense industries would spare no efforts to meet the needs of the country's armed forces to secure their territorial integrity.

Iran equipped its Navy fleets with two new hovercrafts Wednesday morning, one of which enjoys missile launching capabilities.

In a ceremony attended by Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari in Iran's Southern port city of Bandar Abbas, hovercrafts BH7 which had been overhauled by local experts and SRNX whose Iranian name is Tondar (Thunderbolt) and has been manufactured through indigenized technology joined the Navy's fleets in Iran's Southern waters.

Iran unveiled the highly advanced home-made Tondar which can launch missiles and serve as launch pad for drones in a ceremony earlier this month.

Addressing a ceremony to unveil the hovercraft at the time, Vahidi said that the hovercraft has been designed and developed by Iranian experts in two models for combat and transportation missions, and that the combat model is called 'Tondar'.

Vahidi further announced that Tondar can be equipped with different types of weapons produced by the Iranian defense industries, including rockets, guns and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

The minister said that Tondar can be used for "coastal patrolling, as a command vessel, offensive reconnaissance operations, mid-range amphibious missions, asymmetric defense, as a personnel and equipment carrier for logistical support for islands and coastal areas or as a sea ambulance for relief and rescue missions".

He further added that the new hovercraft will increase the combat and reconnaissance capabilities as well as the mobility of the Iranian Armed Forces.

by: farsnews

Navy Commander: Israel Discredited by Failure in Gaza War TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said that Israel's recent defeat in its war on the Gaza Strip discredited the Zionist regime.

"Israel lost its reputation in this war, the Zionist army which claimed to have a great power sustained a heavy defeat in the Gaza Strip which is only 360-square kilometers in size," Sayyari said in an interview with Alaahd news agency.

Sayyari downplayed the Zionist Army size and power, and stated, "Gaza's victory in the recent war over the Zionists was a great and outstanding triumph for the (Palestinian) Resistance (groups)."

Israel triggered an 8-day fighting by assassinating the military chief of the ruling Hamas group on November 14 followed by dozens of airstrikes on Gaza.

In response, Palestinian groups fired over 1,500 missiles and rockets at Israel.

Palestinian resistance groups targeted Tel Aviv and areas near Jerusalem for the first time in the history of confrontations between the two sides, launching a rocket attack in a major escalation of hostilities as Israel pressed forward with relentless airstrikes on the Gaza Strip.

Israel called up thousands of reservists and massed troops along the border with Gaza, signaling a ground invasion of the densely populated seaside strip could be imminent.

But the attack on the Israeli settlement, along with an earlier strike on Zionists' capital Tel Aviv, frightened the Israeli regime, making it drop its aggression plans and ask for third party mediation.

Eventually, a Cairo-mediated ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Wednesday November 21, ended the Israeli attacks, which killed more than 165 Palestinians and injured about 1,269 others.

by: farsnews

Report: Saudi Terrorists Top List of Hunted Rebels in Syria TEHRAN (FNA)- Saudi Arabia topped the list of the foreign countries with the highest number of terrorist nationals killed in clashes with the Syrian army, media reports revealed on Tuesday.

The list, submitted to the United Nations by the Syrian mission to the international body last month, indicates that most of the Saudi nationals killed in Syria are members of the al-Qaeda, Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper quoted an informed Syrian source as saying

According to the list, a majority of the terrorists have been killed in Aleppo, Homs, Idlib, and Deir al-Zour provinces

Moreover, most terrorists have been Takfiri members of the al-Qaeda, who had crossed into Syria via the Turkish borders

Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Qatar, and Lebanon followed Saudi Arabia in the list of the countries which have the highest number of terrorist elements in Syria

Non-Arab countries included Afghanistan, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Chad

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad's government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure

According to the report, material is being stockpiled in Damascus, in Idlib near the Turkish border and in Zabadani on the Lebanese border

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons - most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past - has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month