TEHRAN, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's army and Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched joint aerials drills in the southern waters of the country on Friday, official IRNA news agency reported.
The drills are conducted in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman ahead of Iran' major military parade on Saturday to mark the Holy Defense Week.
The Holy Defense Week is held in Iran every year with reference to the beginning of Iran-Iraq war in 1980 which lasted for eight years.
According to the report, in the maneuver, aircraft featuring F-4, Sukhoi-22, and Tucano, as well as helicopter gunships, including Chinooks, would participate.
The drills aimed at enhancing the country's combat preparedness as well as demonstrating Iran's capabilities in the face of threats, said the army's Information and Public Relations Deputy Yousuf Safipour.
Also, the deputy commander of the Army's Air Force Amir Vahedi said on the sidelines of the drill that "currently, no country in the region is capable of confronting us at all. We are strong defenders in the face of aggression, and will make aggressors regret their incursion," Press TV reported.
Despite the enemies' desire to create division between the Iranian two military forces, namely the army and the IRGC, the forces have maintained optimal coordination and synergy with each other in ensuring the security of the country and its people, Vahedi was quoted as saying.
The IRGC spokesman Ramezan Sharif also said that one of the objectives of the drills is to showcase the Iranian armed forces' readiness to defend the country's interests in the strategic region of the Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
In the military parade to be held simultaneously in the capital Tehran and the coastal city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, 600 naval vessels and dozens of fighter planes will participate.
