Iran begins large-scale military training on the border with Azerbaijan

TEHRAN, Oct. 17 (DPA/EP) –

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard has started a series of military exercises on the border with Azerbaijan on Monday that will last for the next few days.

Among the main objectives of these maneuvers is the intention to demonstrate to Iran’s enemies the defensive capacity of the Revolutionary Guard, as detailed by an official from the security forces to the IRNA agency.

Likewise, it has stressed that Tehran also seeks to defend its borders and guarantee regional security. The Iranian province of East Azerbaijan, in the west of the country, borders Armenia and Azerbaijan, countries in conflict whose tensions have escalated in recent months.

The exercise will focus on the use of paratroopers, helicopters and kamikaze drones, and the soldiers will practice maneuvers to cross rivers, according to the Tasnim news agency, considered to be the mouthpiece of the Revolutionary Guard.

According to the aforementioned agency, Iran has already carried out three large-scale maneuvers in the area since the outbreak of the conflict between Armania and Azervaijan in 2020 for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Iran, like Russia, maintains good relations with Armenia and has repeatedly denounced Azerbaijan for collaborating with Western powers, including Israel.