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’s Ukraine Envoy Says World Must Reinstate ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran

Iranian security forces stand guard over the Iranian national flag hanging on a wall during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Tehran, Iran, 10 January 2025. (EPA)
Iranian security forces stand guard over the Iranian national flag hanging on a wall during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Tehran, Iran, 10 January 2025. (EPA)
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Trump’s Ukraine Envoy Says World Must Reinstate ‘Maximum Pressure’ on Iran

Iranian security forces stand guard over the Iranian national flag hanging on a wall during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Tehran, Iran, 10 January 2025. (EPA)
Iranian security forces stand guard over the Iranian national flag hanging on a wall during an anti-Israel rally in solidarity with the Palestinian and Lebanese people in Tehran, Iran, 10 January 2025. (EPA)

The world must return to a policy of "maximum pressure" against Iran to turn it into a more democratic country, US President-elect Donald Trump's incoming Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg told an Iranian opposition event in Paris on Saturday.

Trump has vowed to return to the policy he pursued in his previous term that sought to wreck Iran's economy to force the country to negotiate a deal on its nuclear program, ballistic missile program and regional activities.

"These pressures are not just kinetic, just not military force, but they must be economic and diplomatic as well", Retired Lieutenant-General Kellogg, who is set to serve as Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, told the audience at Paris-based Iranian opposition group National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

He said there was an opportunity "to change Iran for the better" but that this opportunity would not last forever.

"We must exploit the weakness we now see. The hope is there, so must too be the action."

He has previously spoken at NCRI events, most recently in November, but his presence in Paris, even if in a personal capacity, suggests the group has the ear of the new US administration.

Kellogg postponed a trip to European capitals earlier this month until after Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.

It was unclear whether he would use his trip to Paris to meet French officials to discuss Ukraine. The French presidency, foreign ministry, Trump's transition team did not immediately respond for comment.

Incoming US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also spoken at NCRI events in the past. The group has repeatedly called for the fall of the existing Iranian authorities, although it is unclear how much support it has within Iran.

Speaking at the start of the event at Auvers-sur-Oise, the group's headquarters on the outskirts of Paris, NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi said the regional balance of power had shifted against Iran's leadership with the all of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and the "crushing blow" suffered by its most important ally Hezbollah in its war with Israel.

"It is time for Western governments to abandon past policies and stand with the Iranian people this time," she said.

The NCRI, the political arm of the People's Mujahideen Organization of Iran (PMOI), has held frequent rallies in France.