Iran`s IRGC to stage military drills next week

Tehran: Basij militia force of Iran`s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will stage two-day drills next week, a senior military commander said Saturday.

The drills will be staged in West Azerbaijan province next week, Xinhua quoted Lieutenant Commander of the IRGC for the operations, Karim Alinejad as saying. "The war games will be staged concurrently in all towns of West Azerbaijan on Feb. 20 and 21," Alinejad said. Battalions consisting of male and female members of Basij force will participate in the drills, Alinejad said, adding that clergymen and athletes are among the battalions. The manoeuvers by the IRGC will go ahead as planned in the current Iranian year which ends March 20, the IRGC spokesperson Ramezan Sharif said. The manoeuvers by the IRGC and Basij are intended to maintain and improve the country`s defensive preparedness, the report said. The administration of President Hassan Rouhani had halted the scheduled military drills in current Iranian calendar, local media had reported earlier.