Iran Nuclear Watch: Iran Military Exercises to Test Asymmetrical Warfare Combat Doctrine

Iranian dignitaries watch naval manoeuvres taking place in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman April 6, 2006. Iran says the war games in the Gulf, which began on March 31, are a show of defensive strength, but analysts say the timing during a nuclear standoff with the West offers a reminder that Iran could threaten a vital world oil shipping route.

World Tribune: Iran exercise to refine combat doctrine tested in Lebanon

Iran is set to launch a new round of military exercises in an effort to test its new combat doctrine using weapons systems which were apparently tested in the recent war in Lebanon.

Over the last two years, Iran has been testing a combat doctrine based on asymmetrical warfare.
The doctrine was said to include the use of small and mobile land and sea forces to erode a much larger Western military.

n April, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps held a week-long military exercise that tested a series of anti-tank, anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles.

Some of those weapons were believed to have been tested in the Hizbullah war with Israel, which ended on Aug. 14. Iran has acknowledged that it trained and equipped Hizbullah.

Why is Iran putting on these military exercises?

Remember the two deadlines that are pending?

August 22: P-5-Plus-1 Proposal response

August 31: United Nations Security Council Demand to Halt Uranium enrichment

This is NOT a threat to the West but a PROMISE.

The promise: Sanction Iran and Iran will disrupt the flow of oil to the West – “The Oil Card.”

The Iranian military said several large-scale exercises would begin on Aug. 19 in the southeast. The military said the exercises would consist of several stages and introduce an unspecified defense doctrine meant to counter a U.S. strike.

“The maneuvers are aimed at introducing Iran’s new defensive doctrine,” military spokesman Gen. Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said on Thursday.

Not really a new defense doctrine – just close the Persian Gulf to oil tankers.

Ashtiani said the exercises would begin near the Afghan border and move throughout Iran. He said no date has been set for the end of maneuvers. “It will continue in the whole of Iran, stage by stage, for an unspecified period,” Ashtiani said in statements to the state-run Iranian media. “We have to be prepared against any threat, and we should be a role model for other countries.”

The military termed the exercise Operation Blow of Zolfaghar,” a reference to the sword of Imam Ali, the inspiration for the Shi’ite religion. In the first stage, the exercise would consist of 12 infantry battalions backed by air and armored forces.

The military announcement marked a resumption of large-scale exercises by the Islamic republic. “Our army is ready to defuse all plots against Islamic republic of Iran,” Ashtiani said.
“Human forces can decide the fate of a war,” Ashtiani said. “We saw it in Lebanon.”

Iran IS planning to say NO to the P-5, plus Germany and the United Nations Security Council.

Is this a surprise?

The question to the United States and Israel:

Has the “POINT OF NO RETURN” with regards to Iran’s nuclear program been reached?

Is it time to ACT?

Stay tuned……