Iran's army has finished a large military exercise by ground forces near the Iraqi border, the state news agency reported Monday. But unlike previous war games in which Iran boasted of weapons advances, the latest manoeuvres were largely held under wraps.
The report by the IRNA news agency was the first public word that the manoeuvres had been held, and even IRNA's confirmation came only indirectly. The report was about the death of two military officers in a road accident as they came back from ``large' exercises by ground forces. IRNA gave no further details about the manoeuvres. Iran has been holding regular exercises by the various branches of its military and its elite Revolutionary Guard, considered the strongest fighting force in the country. Usually, Iran's state media give them extensive coverage of military exercises to tout the country's strength in the stand-off with the United States and its allies over Iran's disputed nuclear program. In November, air defence exercises were meant to showcase Iran's capabilities in defending its nuclear facilities from possible attack.
Iran announced two months ago that it would hold war games in December in the south-western provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam, both next to Iraq. But there had been no announcement that the manoeuvres had begun. IRNA said the two officers who died were returning from manoeuvres ``in the south'.
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