Iran Says Ready to Fulfil Iraq’s Air Defence Needs

Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard, the Commander of the Air Defence Force of the Iranian Army, made the remarks in a Sunday meeting with Major General Tariq Abbas Ibrahim Abdul Hussein, the chairman of the Iran-Iraq joint commission, in Tehran.

“The Air Defence Force of the Iranian Army … has managed to produce various air defence systems, including tactical and stationary radars, artillery and missile weapons, signal and data collecting equipment, electronic warfare gear, and drones for missions and applications in diverse frequencies and ranges,” General Sabahifard said.

He pointed to the areas in which the Iranian and Iraqi air defence forces can cooperate, and said, “We are ready to form expert committees to prepare the grounds for expansion of mutual cooperation in all areas.”

The Iranian Air Defence, relying on Iranian expert, is fully prepared to fulfil Iraq’s air defence needs in all areas, including the building and technical support of air defence systems, he added.

“Iran and Iraq have many common grounds and topics for unity, solidarity, and making efforts to enhance Islamic power in the region,” the Iranian general said.

The Iraqi official, in turn, praised the great capabilities of Iran in designing and building defence systems, expressed Baghdad’s preparedness to work with Iranian air defence experts in manufacturing equipment, training, and technical support in various fields, such as electronic warfare, radars, visual monitoring, command and control, radar-related calculations, and software systems.

The meeting came a few days after Iran managed to shoot down a sophisticated US spy drone, which had violated the Iranian airspace while in maximum stealth mode.

The Iranian air defence managed to down the intrusive UAV using its homegrown “3^rd of Khordad” air defence system.

Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defence sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing military equipment and hardware despite facing sanctions and Western economic pressure.

The Islamic Republic says its military power is solely for defensive purposes and does not pose any threat to other countries.