TEHRAN— Amir Hatami, the advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution on military affairs said Saturday at the conference of science and technology in Sacred Defense that one of the issues that are always compared in wars is the role of manpower and equipment.

The former defense minister noted that during the Sacred Defense, the role of manpower was very prominent in a way that it overshadowed other issues. 

“The quantitative and qualitative presence of manpower with divine motives in the Sacred Defense was very prominent and the presence of Imam Khomeini (RA) made this role more prominent,” Hatami said. 

The adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei on military affairs pointed out that the ground force owes to the soldiers who came in the performance of military duty and were present in the Sacred Defense.

Hatami stated, “We have benefited a lot from science and technology during the Sacred Defense, and the army was able to play a role from the first day to the last day of the war by relying on its own science and knowledge and the scientific capacities of the country.”

Referring to the reasons for not paying attention to the scientific achievements of the Scared Defense, the former defense minister said that nowadays, many technologies are being injected into the war front of Ukraine and Russia, and these new technologies are creating milestones. 

However, he noted, during the Sacred Defense, Iran fought only by relying on its own possessions. 

“The equipment that we received was not particularly decisive,” he added.

The adviser to the Commander-in-Chief stated, “If we had done a proper research on the issue of science and technology during the Sacred Defense now, we would have had a suitable treasure of science and technology approaches. Perhaps the reason for this issue is that after the imposed war, two views were created in the field of explaining the war, one of which sought to preserve and promote values, and the other sought to remove the works done during the Sacred Defense, which was a completely incorrect view.”

Hatami noted that the Leader of the Islamic Revolution considers the Sacred Defense a treasure, pointing out, “Everyone can take advantage of the Sacred Defense and if scientific research had been done in that time, we would have approaches that could prove that we should be powerful now.”

Of course, we increased our defense power after the imposed war, the former defense minister underlined, adding that this process continued until the enemies said that they should negotiate on it with Iran. 

“Sacred Defense taught us that defense power is non-negotiable and we will increase it to whatever extent necessary and not negotiate it with anyone at all,” he underscored.

The adviser to Ayatollah Khamenei in military affairs added, “All our decision makers know very well what they will face in the future. If we have missiles today, it is because we have realized that we need this weapon. If we have drones today and we are on the verge of being a number one in this technology in the world, and if the world has understood today that drones play a role in the war in Azerbaijan and Ukraine, we understood this much earlier.”

Referring to the sending of military aid packages and weapons to Ukraine, Hatami said that nowadays, in the ongoing war in Ukraine, Westerners have come to Ukraine's aid with short-range and anti-armor weapons. 

“Today, we have various weapons which can determine the fate of a battle,” he underscored. 

This view that has emerged in the field of science and technology in the last few years shows that we have recognized the defense needs well, the former defense minister stated, adding that Iran is trying hard to prepare an army suitable with the demands of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution. 

We stopped the enemy in the first 6 months of the war

Elsewhere in the event, Brigadier General Kiomars Heydari, Iranian Army’s Ground Forces commander called the Leader of the Islamic Revolution’s path a “straightforward path.” 

Referring to the position of veterans and the importance of using their experiences, he said that this conference is about the importance of the role of science and technology in the Sacred Defense.

“We believe that nothing will be achieved if the use of science and technology is not on the agenda,” he underscored. 

The Iranian Army’s Ground Forces commander stated, “If none of the goals and promises of the enemy have been fulfilled during the Sacred Defense, it is because of the use of science and technology by our warriors in the fronts of the Sacred Defense, who were able to stop the enemy's war machine, especially in the first six months of the war.”

“Our veterans used this valuable experience and science and technology, which stopped the enemy,” he concluded.