Iranian Army, Pillar of National Sovereignty
In a meeting on Tuesday with military commanders on the occasion of the Army Day, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, stated that the army shoulders the two major tasks of defending the country and countering the threats targeting the nation. He described the army as the pillar of national sovereignty.
Also in an address to the army personnel yesterday, President Mohammad Khatami said that the Islamic Republic does not want its army for aggressive and expansionist purposes.
Thus, the Leader and the president both made it quite clear that unlike other countries such as the United States, the Islamic Republic Armed Forces have only the major tasks of defending the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and averting threats to the nation. The fact is that not even a single bullet has been fired by the Iranian army except in self-defense.
The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic showed their great capabilities and potentials during the eight-year Iraqi imposed war against this country. Although the Iraqi regime received all kinds of support from several countries, especially from the Western and former Eastern superpowers, it could not achieve its goal of toppling the Islamic government or annex even a single inch of Iran's territory, thanks to the self-sacrifice, bravery and faith of the Iranian armed forces.
The important point is that Iran has achieved its great defense capabilities by spending the minimum budget compared with other states in the Persian Gulf area. Because of the initiative, expertise and devotion of the Armed Forces personnel, the country has achieved self-sufficiency in defensive armament to a considerable extent.
The Iranian Army is also prepared to convey its experience to the Palestinians and other Muslim nations whose land has been occupied and whose rights have been violated by the Zionist entity.