Iran

[Skywalker]

AMID IAEA PARLEY, IRAN'S MILITARY EXERCISES


NICOSIA [MENL] -- Iran has launched a major military exercise as the International Atomic Energy Agency began formal discussions of Teheran's nuclear program.

Iranian officials said the exercise in western Iran was meant to test the effectiveness of troops and strategic platforms against any foreign invasion. They said the exercise was the latest of more than a dozen over the last 18 months in an attempt to bolster deterrence against any Israeli or U.S. military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

The exercise, entitled Ashura-5, began on Sept. 12 in the western provinces of Hamedan, Kurdistan, and Zanjan. The exercise was being commanded by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, responsible for Iran's missile and nuclear weapons programs.

IRGC commander Gen. Yahya Rahim-Safavi said Ashura-5 would include the firing of surface-to-surface missiles and anti-aircraft batteries. The commander did not identify the missiles, but said they would be used for what he termed deep-strike warfare.

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