January 03, 2017
The vice commander of the Iranian Army, Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, says the US government wanted to invade the Islamic Republic in 1991 and 2001 but did not dare do so.
In 1991, when the US sent troops to Saudi Arabia to expel Iraqi troops from Kuwait, and in 2001, when the US invaded Afghanistan, its real target was not those countries, Pourdastan said in a speech Sunday.
The Americans actually wanted to attack the Islamic Republic but, faced with the country’s military preparedness under a “vigilant and prudent” leadership and supported by the Iranian people, the Americans realized they could not confront the country, he said.
There is no evidence of any such intent either time. All the maps and planning materials issued to troops involved nothing but Iraq and Afghanistan, so if any attack has been planned for Iran, the troops would have gone in unprepared.
There is, however, an American plan for a major land invasion. It was drafted after the hostage seizure in 1979 and has been periodically updated from time to time. There are also numerous other plans for less than all-out war with the Islamic Republic.
Pourdastan told his audience the preparedness of the Iranian armed forces in peacetime carries a message for Iran’s enemies and undermines them.
Last September, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi called on Iran’s armed forces to remain in a constant state of preparedness to counter threats. “The Iranian nation is today faced with a wide range of enemies because of its insistence on Islam, independence and sublime values,… and the Armed Forces must be ready all the time to play their role if necessary,” he said.