Iran kicks off massive drills near Azerbaijan’s border

The Ground Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) have started massive military drills in the country’s northwestern province of East Azarbaijan.

“Parachute heliborne operations, night operations, helicopter combat operations, combat and suicide drone operation, as well as constructing a bridge over the Araz River, control of roads, the seizure of heights, and destruction, are on the agenda of the drills,” the IRGC Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said on October 17, according to the Iranian state news agency IRNA.

He added that the drills are to convey the message of peace and friendship and lasting security to neighbours, and its message for the enemies is to announce the readiness of the IRGC Ground Forces and other armed forces to defend the country's borders and to respond decisively to any threat.

The exercises are part of an annual mission aimed at promoting the combat readiness of the IRGC Ground Force, the report added.

The drills are being carried out after Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed on deploying an EU civil mission on the border of the two countries, and amid Tehran's long-standing concern about Azerbaijan's military cooperation with Israel.

In a telephone conversation with his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on October 15, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed Tehran's concern over the presence of "foreign forces" in the Caucasus.

“That is a mutual concern of the regional countries and Tehran opposes the deployment of any foreign forces in the region,” Abdollahian added, according to the Iranian foreign ministry’s website.