Just a couple of days after North Korea displayed its military hardware in Pyongyang, during which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivered his first public televised speech since the failed rocket launch, a new military parade took place in one of world’s most hot places: Iran.
On Apr. 17, Iran commemorated National Armed Forces Day with a ceremony attended by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and several of high-ranking military officials.
According to the Mehr News Agency, thousands goose-stepping soldiers took part to the parade in which some military vehicles and equipment were displayed, including the new generation of the Zolfiqar tank, the Samsam tank, the Borragh personnel carrier, the Naze’at missile launcher, the Misaq 2 missile launcher, the Badr tank transporter, and advanced radar and missile systems.
Several planes attended the “show” as well, including IRIAF F-14s, and Su-24s (performing aerial refueling), even if, to be honest, nothing comparable to the 70 F-15Es launched yesterday by the U.S. Air Force from Seymour Johnson AFB.
If I were to choose between the IRIAF current fighters and the 70 F-15Es of the 4th FW, most probably I’d pick the Strike Eagles.
Image credit: ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images
Addressing the military personnel, Ahmadinejad said:
“Security in the Persian Gulf will be promoted with the participation of regional countries, and the interference of foreigners will bring nothing but insecurity,” he said.
A message to Israel, U.S. and some regional allies, in anticipation of a possible (imminent?) attack on Tehran’s nuclear program.
Image credits: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi and ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images
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