Military news

(emphasis added) Title: Rapid Reaction, the Focus of Future Wars: an Evaluation of NEZAJA Rapid Reaction Forces from the Sacred Defense to the Samen Plan Date: February 25, 2013 / Esfand 6, 1392 Source: AJA Rapid reactions operations are a part of military missions in which a unit is capable of arriving at the mission area from any point in the shortest possible time with the required equipment, and are characterized by mobility and rapid movement. Abilities that, although used by NEZAJA in the past, are now universal in the new force structure, and is the first priority in all units. The Army, as the largest and most comprehensive defense force across our vast county, benefits from units that [are capable of completing a a variety of tactical and operational objectives during their missions]. 'Rapid Reaction' traditionally includes classic military programs and plans, which is seen in the Army's history. 'Rapid reaction' operations are as essential to the survival ...

Highlights : The Supreme National Security Council reportedly told the IRGC (Sepah) to halt missile exercises over the past year. Current SNSC secretary (Adm. Shamkhani) denies this while IRGC commanders claim that exercises are continuing as planned. IRGC arrests 'cyber-activists' in Kerman for the crime of - among others - communicating with foreigners.  Continued combat operations by the IRGC in south-west region. Army and IRGC forces conducted disaster relief in northern provinces. New 'Khatam al-Anbiya' naval zones formed to deconflict IRGCN/IRIN operations Promotions and transfers within chain of command include: Defense Minister (MODAFL): Brig. Gen. Hossein Deghan  Advisor to DM: Rostam Qasemi (fmr oil minister) SNSC Secretary: Adm. Shamkhani Head of the Center for Strategic Defense Resarch: Brig. Gen. Vahidi (former-DM) Vahidi also heads Expediency Council's Politics, Defense & Security Committee  Army Coordination Deputy: Hassan Saifi (fmr head of Organ...

Title: The NEZAJA is Transformed and Becoming More Powerful Date: February 28, 2011 / Azar 12, 1389 Source: Mehr News Agency Zahedan – MNA: Commander of NEZAJA said: the Army is becoming more powerful and is changing day by day. To Mehr News Agency in Zahedan, in the ceremony for the opening of phase two of the “Sarlashkar Shahid Yaqoob Ahmad Bigi” garrison for the 88th armored division (Sistan and Baluchistan), Amir Reza Pourdastan said : The layout and organization of NEZAJA before the revolution was designed and implemented by NATO ... He said: This layout was designed to counter WARPAC forces, and in case of attack by these forces, Iran's army could hold for at least two hours before NATO forces entered the war in Chahbahar. The NEZAJA commander stated: Designed by NATO, the largest garrisons were established in Tehran and Isfahan, with support in Shiraz, so they could confront the WARPAC. He added: The new NEZAJA development plan was put on the agenda by Army and Joint Chie...

In a comment on the "IRGCN's 26th Missile Group" piece, a regular reader* drew my attention to a collection of military facilities about 20 km north of Bandar Abbas, broaching the possibility that they might also be linked to the IRGC . While I cannot comment on this with confidence, it is certainly plausible. Indeed, all things being equal, they probably are. The most persuasive 'devil's advocate' argument against these being IRGC UGFs is the fact that the area is littered with manufacturing and other extraction-based industries, which suggests that these UGFs may simply be mines. Given the balance of evidence, this scenario is unlikely. For instance, why would a mine be attached to a collection of hardened shelters typically associated with munition storage? Similarly, these sites lack many of the characteristics and associated mine-infrastructure found in other nearby extraction industries, which tend to be open-pit quarries rather than these horizontal sh...

Rouhani in Bandar Abbas, February 2014; 16th Missile Group Although much has been written about Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp Navy (IRGCN) and its role in the Persian Gulf, little is known about its actual organization. Part of this curtain was pulled back in late-February 2014 when President Rouhani paid a visit to the naval headquarters at Bandar Abbas. Here, he was photographed next to a placard identifying the IRGCN's 16th 'Aasef' Missile Group. Although this group's garrison - located in the Hormozgan county of Minab - could not be located, this placard provided enough enough information to start searching for other missile groups. One garrison that could be located belongs to the 26th 'Salman' Missile Group, which is based in Borazjan, the capital of the Dashtestan county in the Bushehr province. [1] This puts it in the IRGCN's 2nd Naval Zone, which is commanded by Brig. Gen. 2nd-Class Ali Razmjou. [2] Located 40 km inshore, the garrison...

In the second part of 'Basij Organization' series, we now to turn to the Beit al-Moqdas battalions (BaM bn), alternately known as rapid reaction battalions (RR bn). The first part of this series covered the Imam Hussein battalions (IH bns), and can be found here . Unlike IH bns, BaM bns are closer to a true militia force than conventional infantry. Index : Origin Role Organization (external) Organization (internal) Footnotes Origin : Although the 'rapid reaction'-adjective predates the formation of these battalions, so-called RR bns were first referenced in May 2012 by Basij Commander Brig. Gen. Mohammed Reza Naghdi who announced their creation.[1] At the same time, Naghdi also announced that these battalions across the country would simultaneously carry out exercises each year in their respective provinces. Since then, the 'To Jerusalem' exercises have received heavy media coverage each year. These exercises typically occur in November, December, and February, ...

On March 5, Israeli naval forces launched an operation in the Red Sea to sieze a ship - the Klos C - which they allege carried weapons from to, ultimately, Palstinian forces in the Gaza Strip. The operation is described in detail at the IDF's PR blog . Although the headlines were dominated by he presence of Syrian-made 302 mm rockets, the shipment also included 180 120 mm mortars (incorrectly reported as 122 mm mortars). Now that the Klos-C has been escorted to an Israeli port and offloaded, the first images are coming out that identifies these mortars as built by Iran. On Monday March 10, the IDF publically displayed the arms, posting a number of high-quality images to their Flickr account . The following is an addendum to the previously posted guide to identifying Iranian mortars.  For further reference imagery, it is recomended that readers visit this page. The first set is drawn from one of the earlier images released, showing the fiber-tube packaging and their markings. The se...