Iran threat: Tehran begins war games after Turkey airstrikes ‘We’re ready’

A senior Iranian military commander said the war games were a warning to the country’s enemies no to miscalculate the Islamic republic’s power and the readiness of its armed forces. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered air strikes on the town of Qamishli after US President Donald Trump announced American troops would step aside to allow for the operation, following that up with a ground offensive. On the same day, Iran’s Fars news agency confirmed the exercises, involving rapid reaction and mobile offensive units of the Army Ground Force supported by the Airborne helicopters, had got underway in the Orumiyeh region, barely 20 miles from the Turkish border.

We are prepared for any level of threats that the enemy has designed and will confront it

Major General Seyed Abdolrahim Mousavi

Major General Seyed Abdolrahim Mousavi, who is overseeing the operation, said: “We are prepared for any level of threats that the enemy has designed and will confront it.

“The message to the enemies is that if they make the wrong calculations, they should know that the children of this land are ready to resist with their full power at any time and place.”

Major General Mousavi said the operation had the motto: “One target, one bullet.”

Iran Turkey Donald Trump

Iran has launched military exercises near the Turkish border (Image: GETTY)

Qamishli

Smoke rises above the town of Qamishli (Image: GETTY)

He explained Ground Forces had been informed of the drills at midnight, and had been mobilised immediately, emphasising all of Iran’s forces were “at the peaks of preparedness”.

On September 20, fighter jets of the Iranian Army’s Air Force (IRIAF) and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) staged joint aerial drills over the Persian Gulf waters, Fars reported.

Various combat, tactical, reconnaissance, transport, and tanker aircraft of the IRIAF and the IRGC were involved, it added.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan chairs the Coordination meeting on Operation Peace Spring (Image: GETTY)

Iran is closely allied to the regime of embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

State news agency IRNA reported the country’s President Hassan Rouhani as saying: “We have openly said that the only solution to ensure safety and security in southern Turkey and northern Syria is the presence of the Syrian army.

“We are calling on our friendly and brotherly neighbour Turkey to act with more patience and restraint, and to revise its decision and chosen path.”

Hassan Rouhani

Hassan Rouhani has urged Turkey to show restraint (Image: GETTY)

Turkish soldiers

Turkish soldiers prepare to enter Northern Syria (Image: GETTY)

At least one member of the Kurdish-led force known as the Syrian Democratic Forces was killed in the Turkish bombardment, Kurdish activists and a Syria war monitor said.

The Kurdish forces have warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” that could potentially unfold because of the Turkish military operation.

Mr Erdogan said in a tweet: “Our mission is to prevent the creation of a terror corridor across our southern border, and to bring peace to the area.”

Iran missiles

Iran’s various missile sites (Image: GETTY)

He added Turkish armed forces, together with Turkish-backed Syrian fighters known as the Syrian National Army, had begun what they called “Operation Peace Spring” against Kurdish fighters to eradicate what Mr Erdogan said was “the threat of terror” against Turkey.

Turkish troops and their Syrian rebel allies entered northeast Syria on Wednesday night, Turkey’s defence ministry said, starting a land offensive against Kurdish militia fighters.

Speaking today, Mr Trump said the US did not endorse Turkey’s assault on northern Syria, and had made it clear to Ankara that its incursion against Kurdish fighters was a “bad idea”.

President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump has ordered US troops out of the area (Image: GETTY)

In a statement Mr Trump stressed no American soldiers are in the area being invaded.

Earlier, he ordered US forces out of the area, prompting criticism that he was abandoning an American ally.

Mr Trump says he does not want the US to fight “these endless, senseless wars”.

He insisted he would hold Turkey to its commitment to protect civilians and religious minorities, including Christians, and ensure the invasion does not create a humanitarian crisis.

source: express.co.uk