Commander Stresses Operational Capabilities of Air Force

TEHRAN (Fars News Agency)- Iran has kept its F14 jetfighters operational without any need for the US help, Iran’s air force commander said, reminding that in the whole world, only two countries are now equipped with operational F14s.

Speaking to reporters in a press conference here Monday night, Brigadier General Karim Qavvami responded to a question about the possible impacts of sanctions on Iran’s defensive capabilities, and said Iranian army has overcome its problems despite the sanctions imposed on Iran since 27 years ago.

“Consider the case with our F14s for instance. The spare parts we needed for the repair and maintenance of our F14 fighters were not delivered to Iran following the victory of the revolution, but you can see that these planes are still operational. The point is that sanctions drive us towards more self-confidence and self-reliance. We succeeded in keeping these fighters operational through domestic production,” he reminded.

The General stressed that Iranian army can overcome its problems as long as it believes in its forces.

Asked why Iran does not act like some regional states and does not embark on making several-billion-dollar military purchases, he replied that some of the said governments do not enjoy public back up and thus try to hide their weak stand and policies.

“Meantime, it should be reminded that the world powers regulate their policies in such a way that they sell more arms,” he continued.

The Iranian air force commander said that his country has friendly ties with regional states and is interested in establishing security through regional cooperation.

Meanwhile, he reiterated that alien countries, such as the US, can never establish security in the region, and further pointed to Iraq and Afghanistan as examples of the same fact.

General Qavvami also described preparedness of the Iranian armed forces as desirable, and said Iran succeeded in achieving frequent victories during the 8 years of the Iraqi imposed war while its armed forces did not enjoy so much military supplies and equipment as the Iraqis did.

“And now we are more powerful than before, and we can give a definite response to any kind of threat,” he underlined.