Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr.14
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran plans to hold drills jointly with trans-regional countries in the current Iranian fiscal year, which began on March 21, said Deputy Commander of the Iranian Army Brigadier General Abdolrahim Mousavi.
"We will hold drills jointly with Kazakhstan and Oman , Iran 's IRNA news agency quoted Mousavi as saying on April 14.
The Army has received requests from Venezuela and Indonesia for holding drills, he added.
Iran has invited Russia to hold drills in the Caspian Sea , he noted.
"Studies are being made to hold joint drills with South Africa , as well."
He also said that the Army will unveil 36 military achievements, mainly in the fields of electronic warfare, chemical defense, missiles, radars, drones, simulators, and guided bombs, in the current year.
He went on to say that the country's defense budget for the current Iranian calendar year has increased significantly compared to the year before.
Iranian media outlets report that Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems in recent years.
Since 1992, Iran has manufactured its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles, radars, boats, submarines and fighter planes.
In Dec. 2014, the Iranian Army staged six-day massive maneuvers code-named Mohammad Rasoulallah across an area of 2.2 million square kilometers stretching from the east of the Strait of Hormuz all the way to the 10th parallel north in the north of the Indian Ocean.