Iran Army Trains for Electronic Warfare, Simulates Air Attacks

Iranian army commander Abdolrahim Mousavi and General Habibollah Sayyari inaugurate the electronic warfare exercises. (Iranian state TV)
Iranian army commander Abdolrahim Mousavi and General Habibollah Sayyari inaugurate the electronic warfare exercises. (Iranian state TV)
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Iran Army Trains for Electronic Warfare, Simulates Air Attacks

Iranian army commander Abdolrahim Mousavi and General Habibollah Sayyari inaugurate the electronic warfare exercises. (Iranian state TV)
Iranian army commander Abdolrahim Mousavi and General Habibollah Sayyari inaugurate the electronic warfare exercises. (Iranian state TV)

The Iranian army kicked off electronic warfare drills, simulating combat conditions and air attacks by fighter jets, drones, and helicopters.

Iranian media showed video footage of Iranian army commander-in-chief Abdolrahim Mousavi and deputy chief for coordination General Habibollah Sayyari at the command center of the electronic warfare drills.

They were seen communicating with army commanders via a television network before the launch of the drills, codenamed “Shield of the State’s Guardians.”

The Army's Public Relations Department said the exercises include electronic support operations for fighter jets and drones and testing electronic defense systems against drones.

Reuters quoted state television as saying that units of the naval, ground, and air forces, as well as air defenses, participated in the exercises in the largely desert central region in central Iran.

The drills featured locally-made radars, drones, manned and unmanned combat jets, micro aerial vehicles, and other military equipment.

State-run English Press TV quoted Sayyari as saying the army has the appropriate infrastructure and has achieved favorable results in countering threats in today’s world and predicting future threats in this sensitive and complicated arena.

Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes that bar it from importing many weapons.

Western military analysts say Iran sometimes exaggerates its weapons capabilities.

On Tuesday, Tehran announced the manufacture of an advanced, domestically-made drone called “Mohajer-10,” with an enhanced range and flight duration, with a greater payload-carrying capacity.

The United States accuses Iran of providing Russia with the Mohajer-6 drones, among other drones, since the beginning of its invasion of Ukraine, which Tehran denies.



Trump Administration Proposes Scrapping UN Peacekeeping Funding 

UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. (Reuters)
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Trump Administration Proposes Scrapping UN Peacekeeping Funding 

UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. (Reuters)
UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) vehicles drive in the Lebanese village of Wazzani near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, July 6, 2023. (Reuters)

The White House budget office has proposed eliminating funding for United Nations peacekeeping missions, citing failures by operations in Mali, Lebanon and Democratic Republic of Congo, according to internal planning documents seen by Reuters.

Washington is the UN's largest contributor - with China second - accounting for 22% of the $3.7 billion core regular UN budget and 27% of the $5.6 billion peacekeeping budget. These payments are mandatory.

The proposed peacekeeping cuts are included in a so-called "Passback," the response by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to State Department funding requests for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on October 1. The overall plan wants to slash the State Department budget by about half.

The new budget must be approved by Congress, and lawmakers could decide to restore some or all of the funding the administration has proposed cutting.

The State Department was due to respond to the OMB proposal on Tuesday. During US President Donald Trump's first term he proposed cutting about a third of diplomacy and aid budgets. But Congress, which sets the federal government budget, pushed back on Trump's proposal.

"There is no final plan, final budget," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters on Tuesday when asked about the OMB proposals.

The OMB has proposed ending Contributions for International Peacekeeping Activities (CIPA).

"For example, Passback provides no funding for CIPA, ending contributions for international peacekeeping due to the recent failures in peacekeeping, such as with MINUSMA, UNIFIL, and MONUSCO, and the disproportionately high level of assessments," according to an excerpt from the Passback.

US IN ARREARS

The United Nations peacekeeping budget funds nine missions in Mali, Lebanon, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Western Sahara, Cyprus, Kosovo, between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Abyei, an administrative area that is jointly run by South Sudan and Sudan.

The OMB Passback also proposed the creation of a $2.1 billion America First Opportunities Fund (A1OF), which it said would be used to cover a limited set of foreign economic and development assistance priorities.

"Should the Administration seek to pay any assessments for the United Nations Regular Budget or peacekeeping assessments, we would look to provide that funding from the A1OF," read the OMB Passback.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday declined to comment on "what appears to be a leaked memo that is part of an internal debate within the US government."

The US owes - for arrears and the current fiscal year - nearly $1.5 billion for the regular UN budget and nearly $1.2 billion for the peacekeeping budget. A country can be up to two years in arrears before facing the possible repercussion of losing its vote in the 193-member General Assembly.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last month said he is seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs as the world body turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.