As if there wasn’t already enough to deal with, the Islamic Republic of Iran is now upping its threats against the United States as well, telling Washington “our fingers are on the trigger” as its army tests new Kamikaze drones.
Iran’s latest threats come as its military does training exercises in Semnan province, which is about three hours’ drive east of Tehran in the north of the country.
What is Iran Training for?
Iran’s two-day training in Semnan focuses on using attack drones to bomb positions and do recon and interceptions. The Trump Administration and Israel have been increasing their presence in the Persian Gulf Region as well, poised for any counterattack from Iran over last year’s assassination of top Iranian army General Qasem Soleimani.
According to Iran it is the US who is the aggressor and they believe Trump or Israel may try to start a war with them during his final days in office.
“The fingers of our heroic armed forces are on the trigger,” said Iran’s armed forces chief Mohammad Bageri. “If our enemies commit the slightest mistake, the armed forces will surely respond fiercely,” he added.
Iran’s drones have been assessed as capable at detailed surveillance missions and dropping significant payloads onto targets. The sanctions which were intended to crush Iran’s economy have caused its regime to bolster funding for the military and weapons development while the middle and lower classes have been the main ones who suffered.
Other analysts say that while Iran can’t be written off as a threat it has also been known many times to exaggerate the power and amount of weapons it has.
Iran: We Will Use ‘Full Force’ if Necessary
Earlier this week Iranian government representative Ali Rabiei said that his country won’t start a war but if the US makes the wrong move they will hit back hard.
“We have made it clear to them that we will not start any war directly or indirectly, but if a blatant mistake is made by the United States, we will defend our security and vital interests with full force,” Rabiei said.
It’s clear that the US is ready if that happens, with the USS Nimitz standing by in the Persian Gulf as well as the nuclear-powered USS Georgia submarine and B-52 bombers in the area.
“Regardless of the rumors about the war, we are closely monitoring all US military actions and movements in the region, and therefore we do not consider these rumors to be a cause for any concern,” Rabiei said in response, adding that “In recent days, and in the aftermath of the psychological war, the losers, who are spending their final days in office, continue to beat the drums of war, and they may be maliciously seeking conspiracies to complicate the situation.”
Biden Wants to Get the US Back in the Iran Deal
Incoming President-elect Joe Biden wants to get the US back into the Iran nuclear deal which Trump exited in 2018, calling it the worst deal in world history. The claims last year in the mainstream media that Iran would strike back after Soleimani’s death proved to be largely inaccurate other than an unsuccessful Iranian-backed rocket attack on US military interests in Iraq.
Biden is more in line with the European perspective, which seeks to draw Iran back into compliance by trade and diplomacy instead of threats of military force. It’s clear that Iran’s leadership is looking forward to having Trump out and Biden in and its military preparations and development on drone warfare should be taken seriously considering the growing importance of drones for military dominance and their high use in recent conflicts.
