Photo released by the office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, showing him during a speech in Tehran on December 22, 2024. (Credit: AFP/HO/KHAMENEI.IR)
The news almost went unnoticed. While Israel has been bombing Houthi targets in Yemen for several days, the Iranian army's general staff announced on Dec. 25 the upcoming organization of "massive" military maneuvers, specifying that it would be an "offensive and defensive" training operation on land, sea, and air. Cited in a report published by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, General Gholam Ali Rachid, overseeing the operations, stated that these maneuvers, held to "counter potential threats," including from Israel, would be "powerful and intensive" and might continue in the coming weeks.The text specifies that the Islamic Republic holds about thirty large-scale military drills every year, aimed at "testing the readiness of the Iranian armed forces" and "strengthening the defensive and offensive capabilities" of the republic. However,...
The news almost went unnoticed. While Israel has been bombing Houthi targets in Yemen for several days, the Iranian army's general staff announced on Dec. 25 the upcoming organization of "massive" military maneuvers, specifying that it would be an "offensive and defensive" training operation on land, sea, and air. Cited in a report published by the Iranian news agency Tasnim, General Gholam Ali Rachid, overseeing the operations, stated that these maneuvers, held to "counter potential threats," including from Israel, would be "powerful and intensive" and might continue in the coming weeks.The text specifies that the Islamic Republic holds about thirty large-scale military drills every year, aimed at "testing the readiness of the Iranian armed forces" and "strengthening the defensive and offensive capabilities" of the republic. However,...
