Iranian army to hold tactical drills

Moscow, April 21 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Iranian army will conduct a military exercise in near future in the Esfahan province, said Ground Forces (GF) commander Brigadier General Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan Saturday.

In the course of the exercise -- codenamed Bait-ul-Muqaddas 25 -- the army will conduct a series of tactical training operations and test modern military equipment, Pourdastan said.

This will be the army's second drill in the first quarter of the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2013).

On Tuesday, Iran successfully test-fired a medium range shore-to-sea ballistic missile in the Persian Gulf, the Islamic republic's deputy defence minister Majid Bokaei said.

He provided no details of the flight range, the missile specifications or the time of the test.

Last Saturday, Iran successfully test-fired three new surface-to-surface domestically produced missiles.

Iran test-fired the Naze'at 10 and Fajr 5 during a military exercise in mid-March. The Fajr-5 is a long-range artillery rocket with a maximum range of 75 kilometers (47 miles), while Naze'at-10 is a medium-range ballistic missile capable of hitting targets within a radius of 100-300 kilometers (62-186 miles).

Iranian officials and commanders contend all tests and training of the Iranian armed forces are only for deterrent and self-defense purposes.

--IANS/RIA Novosti

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