Iran maneuvering
to deter U.S., Israel
New combat doctrine to exploit military advantages in potential war
Posted: October 9, 2004
1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
Iran has introduced what officials termed a new combat doctrine meant to repel any attack by Israel or the United States, reports Geostrategy-Direct, the global intelligence news service.
Officials have termed the doctrine "asymmetric warfare" and said it was aimed at countering a threat from a much larger and more powerful adversary. They said the combat doctrine seeks to identify and exploit Iranian military advantages in any war with a foreign power.
The new doctrine was demonstrated during the Ashura-5 military exercise in September.
During the Sept. 12-18 exercise, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps tested the effectiveness of coordinated air and ground strikes, strategic medium- and intermediate-range missiles as well as other weapons and methods.
IRGC commander Gen. Yahya Rahim-Safavi said Iran developed the concept of asymmetric warfare based on the assessment that Teheran's greatest threats came from Israel and the United States. Teheran has sought to deter these two countries by demonstrating Iran's deep-strike capability, he said.
"The principles of this kind of warfare have been formulated in view of extra-regional threats which we assume the Islamic Republic will face," Rahim-Safavi told Iranian state television.
"They know full well that if they start an onslaught against us, we will not be confined to our land borders and that we will attack them outside the boundaries of our land borders."
[On Sept. 28, several people were killed during clashes between protesters and IRGC special operations troops in the southern port of Bandar-Abbas.
Iranian opposition sources said the clashes stemmed from the killing of three local fishermen by secret police.]
Gen. Masoud Jazayeri, spokesman for the IRGC, said Iran developed its new combat doctrine based on the lessons learned from the 1980-1988 war with Iraq. The war began with a massive Iraqi ground invasion but within a year, Teheran went on the offensive. Iran's military, short of operational aircraft, sent waves of lightly armed volunteer forces to break the Iraqi front.
Jazayeri said asymmetric warfare was an important component of Ashura-5, overseen by the IRGC. He said that over the last decade Iran has enhanced the combat doctrine with newly developed tactics and logistics.
"The IRGC is therefore able to respond promptly to any attacks and can repel any invader regardless of its strength or technological abilities," Jazayeri said.
Ashura-5 was conducted in the western provinces of Hamedan, Kurdistan and Zanjan and included units from the IRGC, regular army and air force as well as Basij volunteer units. Officials said Ashura-5 focused on tactics to repel a foreign military attack in wake of what it called threats against Iran's nuclear program.
During the weeklong exercise, officials said, Iran tested defensive tactics, military platforms, psychological warfare and such logistics as the airlift of the T-72 main battle tank. The IRGC has declared the war games a success.
After Ashura-5, Iran continued to demonstrate its military capabilities during a weeklong commemoration of the Iran-Iraq war. On Sept. 21, the IRGC held a parade in Teheran in which the force displayed the Shihab-2, Shihab-3, the Nazeat-6 and Nazeat-10, the Tondar-69 and the Zelzal missiles. The corps also displayed the Iranian main battle tank Zulfiqar as well as the T-72.