NICOSIA — Iran has reported the formation of an army of suicide
fighters.
Iranian officials said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has
recruited thousands of people and trained them for suicide missions. The
officials said the recruits were taught how to blow themselves up in front
of oncoming enemy main battle tanks and troop carriers as well as how to
cross minefields.
"The Revolutionary Guards does not only depend on its technological
might because it has thousands of martyrdom seekers and they are ready for
martyrdom-seeking operations on a large scale,'' IRGC commander Gen. Yahya
Safavi said.
In an interview on Iran'a Al Alam television on Nov. 5, Safavi called
the suicide troops "trained professionals." He said the troops would be used
to stop any ground invasion of Iran.
In 2005, an organization aligned with IRGC announced the formation of an
army of suicide attackers. The IRGC also commands the Basij paramilitary
force, comprised largely of seminary students.
The IRGC has been leading the current "Great Prophet" military exercise
in the Gulf. The 10-day exercise has included the launch of hundreds of
indigenous missiles and rockets in one of the greatest displays of firepower
by Iran's military.
On Monday, Iran tested what officials termed new automatic cannons and
rocket launchers. They said the range of both systems was between 75 and 120
kilometers.
"It is the first time that a new generation of automatic cannons with a
range of 75 kilometers has been successfully tested," military spokesman
Brig. Gen. Ali Fazli said.
For his part, Safavi said Iran plans to offer its line of missiles and
rockets to countries. Iran has reported a defense export clientele of 59
countries.
"We are able to give our missile systems to friendly and neighboring
countries,'' Safavi said. "We have military weapons which we have not shown
off, but we will do in the next maneuvers."
