Iran: American B-52 Regional Flights of No Operational Value

“The flight of two US B-52s to the region and their return is of little operational value,” General Baqeri said, adding that over the past month, US aircraft carriers and helicopter carriers, as well as their submarine, have left the Persian Gulf region.

“Such moves, which the enemy [the US] called the display of power, show that they are afraid of the defense power of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he went on to say.

The top commander noted that over the past 20 days, Iran has carried out over 10 military exercises on land using drones and missiles, adding that Iran Armed Forces are fully prepared to respond to any threats and to defend the security and national interests of the Iranian nation.

In relevant remarks late last week, General Baqeri said any enemy move will be annihilated by his country's most advanced missile power.

“If the enemies of the Islamic Republic have evil intentions towards national interests, maritime trade routes and land and territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, they will be destroyed by advanced missiles of the country,” General Baqeri said on the sidelines of the final stage of Payambar-e Azam 15 (Great Prophet 15) wargames, which kicked off on Friday.

“The military exercises in the past 15 days that will continue for the next 5 days and are carried out almost simultaneously show the extraordinary and excellent readiness of the Armed Forces in all dimensions of land, air, sea, and missile defense,” he added.

Elaborating on the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ Great Prophet 15 drills which were launched with the combined operations and mass firing of missiles of various classes, Baqeri noted, “Holding large-scale Great Prophet 15 drills show that the missile power of the Islamic Republic of Iran in short, medium, and long-range is ready to defend the territory, national interests and lofty goals of the Islamic Republic of Iran with all its might.”

"Although we do not want to embark on aggression, we declare with these military exercises that if enemies have any ill intention towards our country, they will be attacked with Iran’s missile power in the shortest time possible,” he stressed.

In relevant remarks on Friday, IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami said that preserving national sovereignty, the Islamic Establishment and values against enemies are the main message of Payambar-e Azam 15 wargames.

“The message of the military exercise demonstrated the authority and will of the Islamic Republic of Iran to defend national sovereignty, the Islamic Establishment and values in the face of enemies of Islam and Iran,” Salami said on the sidelines of the first stage of IRGC missile and drone drills on Friday.

“Today, a joint missile and drone combat was launched in very large-scale drills,” he said, adding, “Using a large number of offensive combat drones, equipped with advanced guidance and control technologies and artificial intelligence, along with firing the most sophisticated ballistic missiles as well as destroying targets with great precision in the first phase of the military exercise displayed glorious scenes of deterrent defensive power of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

Major General Salami described the successful testing of new technologies in missile and UAV guidance and control systems and very precise command and control of the joint strategic operations as the prominent features of the Great Prophet 15 wargames.

“With Almighty God’s grace, today, the IRGC Aerospace Force was able to accurately hit all specified targets in the drills using the most sophisticated missile and UAV technology,” the commander went on to say.

The IRGC started the first phase of the Great Prophet 15 wargames with the IRGC Aerospace Force's massive missile launch and drone operations in the Central Desert of Iran on Friday.

The first stage of the Great Prophet (Payambar-e Azam) 15 drills of the IRGC kicked off on Friday morning with the codename of “Ya Fatimah al-Zahar”, during which ground-to-ground ballistic missiles were fired and offensive drone bombers operations were put into action in the general area of Iran’s Central Desert.

During the drills that began in the presence of IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami, IRGC Aerospace Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh and a number of senior commanders and officials of the Iranian Armed Forces, a new generation of ground-to-ground ballistic missiles and drones were used in compound offensive against hypothetical enemy bases, destroying all the specified targets.

During this stage of the wargames, after the attack of the IRGC Aerospace’s offensive bomber drones from all sides to the missile shield of the hypothetical enemy and complete destruction of targets, the new generation of the IRGC ballistic missiles of the classes of Zolfaqar, Zelzal and Dezful were mass fired at targets dealing fatal blows to the hypothetical enemy bases.

The missiles were Multiple Re-entry Vehicles (MRVs) with the capability of jamming and going through the enemy missile shield.

Great Prophet wargames are annual missile tests and exercises conducted by Iran's IRGC. The first series of the wargames began in July 2008.

In recent years, Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems.

The Iranian Armed Forces several times a year test their preparedness and capabilities as well as newly-manufactured weapons systems in different wargames.

The Iranian Armed Forces recently test-fire different types of newly-developed missiles and torpedoes and tested a large number of home-made weapons, tools and equipment, including submarines, military ships, artillery, choppers, aircrafts, UAVs and air defense and electronic systems, during massive military drills.

Iranian officials have always stressed that the country's military and arms programs serve defensive purposes.

Defense analysts and military observers say that Iran's wargames and its advancements in weapons production have proved as a deterrent factor.