Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Oct. 10 – Radical Islamist militiamen affiliated to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) are staging military exercises in the suburbs of Tehran on Friday to defend the Iranian capital against "natural disasters" and "enemy assaults".

Members of the paramilitary Bassij took part in Friday morning’s military drills under the command of the Tharallah Garrison in Tehran.  Similar war games will be held in Karaj, Islamshahr, Shahre Rey, Rabat Karim, and Varamin, said the acting deputy commandant of the IRGC, Brigadier General Mohammad Hejazi, who also commands the Tharallah Garrison.

The manoeuvres will last for 48 hours.

Meanwhile another senior Bassij leader on Friday announced that the paramilitary force was giving "specialised training" to its units across Iran.

"These units are receiving specialised air, sea and ground training to be prepared for defending the country, the ruling establishment, and the revolution", said Brigadier General Ahmad Zolqadr on the sidelines of a military parade in Zanjan, north-west Iran. Zolqadr is the operational commander of the Bassij.

Zolqadr’s brother, Mohammad-Baqer, was once the IRGC deputy commandant and later a Deputy Interior Minister.

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