Iran Army Ground Force fully ready to respond to any threat: Commander

Iran’s Army Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Kiumars Heidari says his forces have drawn up all the necessary plans and stand ready to respond to any threat against the country.

Speaking to IRNA on Thursday, Heidari said the Iranian Army Ground Force is pursuing Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s order to maintain its constant readiness to be able to respond to any threat.

He added that 11 brigades of the Army Ground Force have been stationed along the borders to establish sustainable security in the country.

He emphasized that Iran has always been facing threats but the Armed Forces’ constant readiness has repelled them, which he called a realization of deterrence.

"Any enemy that foolishly thinks of attacking our country will regret it and retract its plan when it faces the combat readiness of the Ground Force," Heidari said.

During a meeting in Tehran on Wednesday, Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the president of the United Arab Emirates, submitted a letter from US President Donald Trump to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The contents of Trump's letter, though, remain undisclosed.

Trump himself claimed in an interview with Fox Business published on March 7 that he had sent a letter to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, offering talks toward a deal on Iran’s nuclear program, but warned that the alternative was a military intervention.

Ayatollah Khamenei said on Wednesday that the call by the US president for negotiations with Iran is nothing but an attempt to "deceive the world public opinion" and portray the Islamic Republic as the party not willing to give diplomacy another chance.

Trump’s call for talks with Iran ‘deception’: Ayatollah Khamenei

Ayatollah Khamenei has once again rejected fresh nuclear talks with the US administration under Donald Trump.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Heidari said his forces hold military exercises at different times throughout the year based on the country’s conditions.

He added that the Ground Force staged three major maneuvers in the eastern and western parts of the country in two months and has made plans to hold new drills in the next Iranian calendar year based on new methods to react to new threats.

"Next year will be a year of increasing our defensive and deterrence capabilities as well as a year for conducting modern exercises based on new approaches,” the Iranian commander emphasized.

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