By IANS
Tehran : Iran Saturday displayed homemade warfare equipment at a military parade here to remember the Iraqi invasion in 1980, which led to an eight-year war (1980-1988).
The ceremony to mark the sacred defence week was held in the premises of the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic, the late Imam Khomeini, the official news agency IRNA reported.
President Ahmadinejad delivered a speech at the ceremony and highlighted the heroic and religious triumph in the 1980-88 Iraqi-imposed war.
Ahmadinejad also asked the foreign forces to quit the region, particularly the war-torn Iraq.
The regional nations do not need foreign forces, he said. “Presence of foreign troops is the root cause of all insecurity, disputes and intimidations.”
Urging foreign military to “make a correct decision, bravely admit their defeats and quit the region”, he said accusing others would not solve any of their problems.
DPA added: For the first time Iran publicly showed its two new homemade fighter jets, dubbed Saeqeh (Thunder), which were successfully tested Thursday. The new planes are touted as similar to the US F-5 and F-18 fighters.
Also exhibited was the upgraded version of the Shahab-3 medium-range missiles, which have a range between 1,300 and 1,800 km and are in the hands of the paramilitary revolutionary guards.
The upgraded version is dubbed “Qadr” (Might) and runs, as announced by the defence ministry in 2005, with a new engine using solid-fuel for increasing the range of the missiles to 2,000 km.
The Shahab-3 missiles had caused grave concern in Israel as the missiles could reach all parts of the Jewish state. Teheran has assured the international community that the missiles are for defensive purposes only.
Iranian military officials said that they had for the first time succeeded in using only Iranian-made military logistics in Saturday’s parade and were able to confront any military aggressions.
Iran’s military forces marched in uniform before President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a show of military and defence power.
Exemplary units of the Armed Forces, the Islamic Revolution’s Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Islamic Republic of Iran Police (IRIP) participated in the inaugural parade held before the president and foreign delegates as well as military and civilian officials.