Iran seeks to show off military prowess with massive six-day drill
Iranian armed forces want to send a message of peace and friendship to neighboring states through the military exercise, top general says.
By JPOST.COM STAFFMissile fired from warship during Iranian naval drill [file](photo credit: REUTERS)
Iran on Thursday began a six-day, wide-scale military drill that will span an area of 2.2 million square kilometers and is code-named Mohammad, the Messenger of God, after the prophet of Islam, Iran's Press TV reported.The drill is taking place in the air, on land and sea, with fighter jets, air defense systems and under-surface vessels being being tested.Press TV quoted Iranian Army Brigadier General Abdolrahim Mousavi as saying the drill was aimed at boosting the Islamic Republic's defense capabilities.He said that the Iranian armed forces want to send a message of peace and friendship to neighboring states through the military exercise.On Wednesday, Air Defense Base Brigadier General Farzad Esmayeeli announced that Iran is planning on bringing a new missile system into its air defense network."During the recent warnings to certain hostile planes, Shalamcheh missile system locked on them, and now we want to bring this system into our integrated missile defense network for the first time," Fars News quoted Esmayeeli as saying.The Shalamcheh, according to Fars, is a mid-range missile that can also be used for short-range air defense.
![Missile fired from warship during Iranian naval drill [file] (photo credit: REUTERS)](https://images.jpost.com/image/upload/q_auto/c_fill,g_faces:center,h_537,w_822/267915 "Missile fired from warship during Iranian naval drill [file]")