Photo: Foad Ashtari / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s armed forces are updating the country’s military doctrine to focus on rapid response and operational effectiveness without geographic limits, Iranian military spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia said Monday. The statement is Tehran’s declared policy. It does not show that Iran has deployed a new weapon or extended the reach of any missile.
The photograph shows an Army Day parade in Tehran in 2017. It is an archival photo, not from Monday’s announcement.
Akraminia said recent directives from Iran’s commander-in-chief, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, are being built into the doctrine. Last month, Khamenei warned that “any kind and level of threat” from the United States or Israel would face a response without geographic limits. Akraminia said the move toward an offensive doctrine requires appropriate weaponry and changes in methods of warfare.
The earlier doctrine was based on defensive operations and retaliatory deterrence, he said: repel the enemy’s first strike, then deliver a proportionate second strike within the region and against U.S. bases there. He said the new doctrine is meant to strengthen deterrence regardless of political developments in the United States or Israel.
The statement comes two days after Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said Iran had lifted its self-imposed limit on its missile range, which Tehran long put at about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles). Mohebbi said Iran must “demonstrate these capabilities in practice” on the battlefield.
Why it matters: Iran has been in a war with the United States and Israel since February, and its attacks have reached several countries across the region and affected shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Still unknown: what weapons or changes the new doctrine involves, whether any missile with longer range exists or has been tested, and how the United States and Israel will respond. This report will be updated as officials comment.
JBizNews Desk | Tehran, Iran
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