Iran’s Guards Launch War Games Along Armenia, Azerbaijan Border

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has launched a large-scale military drill in the northwestern region of Aras along the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The IRGC on Monday kicked off its three-day military exercise -- codenamed “IRGC Ground Force’s Might” -- in areas striding the northern sectors of East Azarbaijan and Ardabil provinces.

IRGC Ground Force Commander Brigadier-General Mohammad Pakpour said the war game is part of an annual routine aimed at boosting the force’s combat preparedness.

Heliborne parachute operations, night raids, helicopter combat ops, and suicide drone operations were carried out during the first day of the exercises. Construction of a temporary bridge over the Aras River which separates Iran from Azerbaijan and Armenia, seizure and control of supply roads and heights, and offensive as well as destructive operations against designated targets constitute other parts of the drill.

In mid-September, Iran warned that it would not tolerate any seizure of territory from Armenia by Azerbaijan after military clashes broke out between its two northern neighbors.

Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of attacking its towns to escape negotiating over the status of the mainly Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan.

Tehran in the past has also expressed alarm at alleged Israeli military presence in Azerbaijan.