August 2006 saw the start of the virtually unprecedented events of the Blow of Zolfaqar war games throughout Iran and its border provinces.[4] These were similar to war games conducted in April 2006.

The latter were also held during a period of tense confrontation between Iran and the United States. 

April 2006 was a period that could have resulted in military conflict between both the United States and Iran. In April 2006, Iran had not only dismissed the deadline set on its nuclear program, but it announced in defiance to the United States that it had successfully enriched uranium for the first time.

Iran has taken the opportunity of the launching of both the April 2006 and Blow of Zolfaqar war games to display its preparedness and full capability to engage in combat. Additionally, Iran has taken the occasion to fine tune its defences and to mobilize its military apparatus. This exhibition of Iranian military might is intended to deter America’s intent to trigger another Middle Eastern war.

During the war games the Iranian military has adjusted and modified its air defence shield[5] for maximum dexterity and efficiency in preparation to stop incoming missiles and invading aircraft. The war games have been deliberately taken as an opportunity for demonstrations of the Iranian capacity to wage war in the air.

The Iranian military has also reported the testing of laser-guided weaponry[6], advanced torpedoes, ballistic missiles, anti-ship missiles, bullets that pierce through bullet-proof vests, and electronic military hardware during the Blow of Zolfaqar war games. Surface-to-surface and ocean-to-surface missiles (submarine-to-surface missiles) in the Persian Gulf were also tested in late August 2006.  This includes missile that are maintained to be invisible to radar and can use multiple warheads or carry multiple payloads to hit numerous targets simultaneously.

Iran has also testing a “2,000 pound guided-bomb with long-range capabilities.” This “2,000 pound bomb” is said to be a “special weapon developed for penetrating military, economic and strategic targets located deep underground or on the soil of the [impending] enemy.”[7] In the case of a war this weapon could prove lethal to Anglo-American military infrastructure in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Persian Gulf. This guided bomb is a flying unmanned aircraft carrying an explosive warhead. The Iranian Defence Minister has also said that “Iran now joins the few countries that possess guided missile technology,”[8] with the execution of the Blow of Zolfaqar war games.

Iran has also been manufacturing its own warplanes,[9] submarines, attack helicopters, tanks, torpedoes, and missiles. This includes remote-controlled modified Maverick Missiles.[10] Brigadier-General Amini, the Deputy Commander of the Air Branch (Air Force) of the Regular Forces, has highlighted that Iran has starting the development and manufacturing of new types of warplanes besides the “Lighting fighter jets” that have been showcased in Northern Iran.[11]   

To discourage the United States in its plans to attack Iran, the Iranian military has additionally showcasing its abilities to dog fight in the air with its fighter jets.[12] Iranian fighter and bomber jets have been progressively equipped with advanced software and hardware being developed in Iran or by way of technology transfers from China, the Russian Federation, and the republics of the former Soviet Union.

Iranian Commanders have also stated that Iran can track and hit warplanes without using conventional radar. Iran has also been showcasing its signal jamming devices and electronic military hardware, which it compares to NATO standards[13].

Warnings to the United States To Stop Its War Plans 

In Iran military commanders and state officials have also directly warned the United States to halt its march toward war in the Middle East. An account of a statement by Major-General Salehi, commander of the Iranian Army, sums up the generic view of Iranian military officials and planners in the advent of another Middle Eastern war initiated by the United States;

“Pointing to the joint manoeuvres to be carried out by the U.S. army [meaning military] and some other countries in the regional waters in the coming days, the General said that the U.S. presence in the region [Middle East] is considered as a threat to the security of the regional countries, and further warned Washington that in case the U.S. dares to practice threats [by actually attacking], it will then have to face a defeat as bad as the one that the Zionists [Israel] had to sustain in Lebanon.”[14]

The Iranian Defence Minister has said “that his ministry is now equipping the border units of the army with modern military tools and weapons in a bid to increase their military capabilities,”[15] and “that any possible enemy invasion of Iran will receive a severe blow, adding that failures of alien troops [meaning U.S., British, Coalition, and NATO forces] in Iraq and Afghanistan have taught trans-regional powers extreme caution.”[16]

Other examples of public warnings by Iranian military commanders directed at the United States and its partners include;

Acting Deputy Commander [Brigadier-General Ahmadi] of the Iranian Mobilized Forces (Basij), noting the intensification of the psychological operations and pressures against Iran, stressed that his troops are fully prepared to encounter “any stupid act by the enemies.”[17] (September 9, 2006)

 [Brigadier-General Mohammad Hejazi] advised the U.S. to relinquish the idea of invading Iran, stressing that as soon as the U.S. dares to make such a big mistake, it will lose its forged reputation due to its [the U.S. military’s] frequent and shocking defeats from the Iranian troops.[18] (September 10, 2006)

[Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Major-General Safavi has warned that Revolutionary Guard] ground troops form a defensive force, but meantime warned that in case any foreign threats are posed to Iran, [assured that the] IRGC adopts an aggressive strategy and hits enemy targets in strategic depth. He also described the southwestern province of Khuzestan as the most strategic region of the country, saying, “Considering that Khuzestan is a border province located at our sensitive borders with Iraq where British and American occupying troops aim at devising cultural and security plots for Khuzestani people through their intelligence organizations and bodies, IRGC and Basij troops should maintain their preparedness at [the] highest levels possible in order to confront and defuse any such measures by the enemies.”[19]

(September 13, 2006: Also See British Troops Mobilizing on the Iranian Border)

During the August war games Iranian military commanders claimed, in a gesture directed towards the United States, Britain, and Israel, “that no air force of any power stationed in the Middle East is capable of confronting the Iranian military’s ground forces.”[20]

This might seem like a psychological tactic to influence morale on both sides and deter any possible aerial assaults against Iran. This statement can not be easily overruled if a comprehensive analysis is made and studied. In this regard, one must look at Lebanon, where Hezbollah and the Lebanese Resistance were able to withstand Israeli aerial raids and overcome the Israeli military on the ground. The Lebanese Resistance is reported as being armed and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. What would an Iranian defensive of a larger magnitude, with state resources and air capabilities, be like?

The anticipation of a conflict are also coming from Iraq. Iraqi leaders have been charging that the United States and Britain plan on attacking Iran from Iraqi territory. Government representatives of Anglo-American occupied Iraq have asked that Iraq not be turned into a theatre of war between the United States and Iran.  “We do not want Iraq to become an arena where other states [i.e., the United States, Britain, and Iran] settle their accounts,”[21] said the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih while visiting the Iranian capital, Tehran. This message looked as if it was mainly directed at the United States, as well as Iran.

Iran Always a Military Objective for the United States

Washington: “Anyone can go to Baghdad! Real Men go to Tehran!”

According to Michel Chossudovsky (The Next Phase of the Middle East War, September, 2006), the war o Iran is another phase of a “military roadmap,” which includes the invasions of Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003), and the Anglo-American sponsored Israeli siege of Lebanon (2006) as earlier stages.  

In May, 2003 after the Anglo-American invasion of Iraq in March 2003 the motto in the White House and Washington D.C. was “Anyone can go to Baghdad! Real men go to Tehran!”

One should ask why “real” men would continue towards Tehran after the invasion of Iraq. This slogan demonstrates that Iran was an objective or a phase in a broader military operation. With that said, the United States would prefer some form of internal “non-violent” regime change in Iran leading to American control of the Iranian economy and oil resources rather than a high-risk and high-cost military confrontation. The shape and nature of this conflict, however, is uncertain.

Possibility of conflict with Iran and a major aerial assault are widely known.

The United States has been planning to attack Iran for years. Colonel Sam Gardiner (Retired, U.S. Air Force) has stated that the campaign against Iran is one where “the issue is not whether the military option would be used, but who approved the start of operations already.”

The March to War with Iran and Syria

With time fleeting, the Iranian military is positioning itself in battle formations under the pretext of nationwide war games and other pretexts. Iran has been steadily strengthening its air defenses and air units in preparation for the possibility of strikes. Iranian and Syrian coordination is also intensifying with the passing of time.

An attack on Iran and Syria will be a combination of heavy air bombardment by the U.S. Air Force, including the U.S. Army’s air units. It will also include a ground offensive lead by the U.S. Marines and Army from the American bases surrounding both Iran and Syria. The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard will predominately manage the theatre of war in the Persian Gulf, trying to guarantee the flow of oil through the strategic Straits of Hormuz.

The Israeli military would deal with military operations in the Levant. Both Israeli troops and Israeli public opinion are being prepared for the possibility of another Middle Eastern conflict. In this context, Israel would face the possibility of aerial assaults from Iran. Iran has threatened to retaliate if it is attacked, using its ballistic missiles. 

British and Australian forces in southern Iraq would deploy with the strategic aim of occupying the Iranian province of Khuzestan and securing its oil. Khuzestan is where most of Iran’ oil fields are located. While a naval build-up is materializing in the Persian Gulf which includes the U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian Navy.

The United States and its partners meanwhile are continuing to marshal and siphon their forces into the Middle East and Afghanistan. Both the United States and Britain have promised troop reductions in Iraq, but are actually increasing their troop levels. It also seems that a muzzle is being placed around Lebanon to stop any attacks on Israel by the presence of NATO troops.