Eurasia Press & News
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday admired the country’s military might and proclaimed Iran as the most powerful nation in the world.
“Iran is the most powerful and independent nation in the world,” Ahmadinejad told a military parade outside Tehran marking the Islamic republic’s annual Army Day.
Ahmadinejad described Iran as “peace-loving” but said the army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) would “react strongly to the slightest aggression” against its soil.
Ahmadinejad said all the branches of the armed forces would react forcefully in response to any attack against Iran’s soil, reiterating that no one would dare to launch a strike on the country.
“I am proud to announce today that the Iranian nation’s power is of an extent that no major power can dare jeopardize the security and interests of the Iranian nation,” he said.
“The Iranian nation with its courageous army will defend its interests with all strength,” he said.
“The army, the Revolutionary Guards and the Basij (volunteer troops) will resist with force and coordination and respond strongly to the slightest aggression,” he said.
“I am proud to announce today that the Iranian nation’s power is of an extent that no major power can dare jeopardize the security and interests of the Iranian nation.”
“Thanks to the resistance of the Iranian people, the great powers have become bogged down. The region and the world must prepare for great changes and the disappearance of satanic powers.”
To mark the occasion, dozens of fighter jets and other aircraft flew over the parade ground in a bid to show the power of the air force, which has reached self-sufficiency in designing and manufacturing defense equipment and even helicopters and aircrafts despite three decades of US sanctions.
Marking the National Army Day, the Iranian Air Force performed it’s biggest-ever aerial parade, showing the world its military prowess. Tehran on Thursday witnessed the air maneuvers of nearly 200 domestically made aircraft including MiG-29, Sukhoi, F4, F5, F7 and F14 fighters, interceptors, aerial refueling aircrafts and passenger jet airliners Boeing 707 and 747.
During the show, Iran’s Air Force showcased its home-made combat and non-combat aircrafts, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Among them were several Saegheh fighter jets, an entirely home-produced model.
Washington imposed the blanket embargo after the pro-American shah was toppled in the 1979 Islamic revolution, and the country has succeeded in producing spare parts to keep its fleet in the air.
Iran is at odds with the West over its nuclear program, which the United States and its allies claim could be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran insists it only wants to produce nuclear energy. The US-led West has no corroborative evidence to substantiate its allegations against Tehran.
The United State has never ruled out a military strike against the Islamic republic although Washington insists it prefers diplomacy. The same is true of US ally Israel, which has in recent weeks augmented threats to Iran.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Army, exhibited its highly sophisticated electronic system submarines, vessels, boats and aircrafts which are all domestically manufactured.
Among the weapons on display at the military parade was Iran’s longer range Shahab-3 missile.
Another type of missile shown during the parade had a “baby bottle” nose for extra-dynamic efficiency and was labeled “Ghadr-1”.
Local as well as foreign correspondents from across the world have attended the event, the largest-ever in Iran’s history.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert renewed the regime’s threats against the Islamic Republic, saying that Iran will never become a nuclear power. Israel is believed to be the sole – if undeclared – possessor of atomic arms in the Middle East.
Iran has in recent weeks been engaged in an intensifying war of words with Israel after an Israeli minister warned of destroying Iran.
“If Israel takes such action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, we will eliminate it from the global arena,” deputy army commander Mohammad Reza Ashtiani riposted Tuesday.
