The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) carried out a massive, multi-day missile test in show of military force amid tensions with the Gulf, Israel, and the United States.
The IRGC conducted a very large military drill this week that involved both ballistic missiles and drones. The drill took place in the central region of Iran, and is considered to be a show of force amid the Islamic Republic’s ever-growing tension with Israel, several Gulf States, and the United States. One source even suggested that kamikaze drones were involved as footage revealed drones seemingly dive-bombing their targets.
Iran’s drill was called the Great Prophet 15, and according to leaders of the IRGC, was for the purpose of revealing the IRGC’s capabilities of neutralizing enemy threats on land and sea, though the regime insists it has no intentions of going on the offensive despite numerous threats to destroy the nation of Israel.
Some of the artificial targets included those located in the Indian Ocean, which required the projectiles to travel over 1,100 miles.
Surface-to-surface ballistic missiles targeted artificial enemy assets. And one of the ballistic missiles involved in the drill, the Dezful, is reported to have a surface-to-surface range of 700 kilometers (430 miles) and explosive content weighing in at 450 kilograms, or nearly 1,000 pounds. However, this isn’t the IRGC’s longest-range missile, as it obtains at least one projectile allowing it to target enemies up to 2,000 kilometers (over 1,200 miles) away.
With the exit of the Trump administration, along with its ‘maximum-pressure campaign,’ and soon arrival of the Biden administration, the Islamic Republic has become even more emboldened in recent weeks.
