Ali Mousavifar said on Wednesday that during the Sacred Defense – a term used in Iran to refer to the war – Iran was defending itself against more than 89 Eastern and Western countries but did not lose even one iota of its territory.
“The liberation of Khorramshahr is the end of the illusion of those who had a fixation about the defeat of Iran in the [Iraqi imposed] war,” he added.
May 24 marks the liberation of the strategic port city of Khorramshahr during a landmark operation code-named Beit ol-Moqaddas in 1982 which put an end to over 500 days of the Iraqi occupation. During the weeks-long operation, some 6,000 Iranian soldiers were martyred and nearly 24,000 others injured.
Mousavifar said the enemy’s large amount of military equipment in Khorramshahr proved that the city was “strategic and important” for them.
He emphasized that the country has succeeded in making great progress in manufacturing military equipment thanks to the guidelines of Ayatollah Khamenei.
Despite the sanctions, the official said, Iran has managed to turn into a superpower in the region and become among the world’s top countries in the fields of science and technology.
'No option for arrogant powers but to accept Iran as emerging power'
Commander of the Iranian Army’s Air Force Brigadier General Hamid Vahedi also said on Wednesday that arrogant powers now have to accept Iran as an emerging power with a resistance mentality.
He added that Khorramshahr is a “meaningful keyword” meaning that “so long as Iran is resolute on resistance and independence, there are more [cities like] Khorramshahr that should be liberated.”
He warned that “strategic negligence in the current hybrid and complicated war” may lead to the loss of cities like Khorramshahr, whose recapture would be more costly.
“The enemy seeks to take advantage of the strategic negligence by using all its capacities,” Vahedi emphasized.
The Iranian commander noted that during the Beit ol-Moqaddas operation, more than 5,400 kilometers of the country’s territory were liberated.
“The enemy has targeted our promising points. Therefore, we are duty-bound to have an active and effective presence in the hybrid war in parallel with the modernization of equipment and capabilities,” he said.
He added that the enemy has been irked by its failure in September 2022 protests in Iran and the nation’s refusal to accept the global arrogance’s demands.
He noted that the Army’s Air Force is capable of manufacturing, equipping and repairing various flying objectives to promote its efficiency.
The Air Force, Vahedi went on, has always proved that it has no fear of threats and is ready to carry out missions at any level and any place ordered by the Leader.