Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour announced that his forces have started massive wargames in the Western parts of Iran on Monday, Fars News Agency (FNA) reported.

“The drills started on 23 January and will continue in Western Iran for four days,” General Pakpour said.

Noting that the wargames are codenamed Imam Ali (AS), he said that the IRGC ground forces will enhance their combat preparedness and exercise new war tactics and methods during the drills.

“Strengthening the planning and command capabilities at different levels and enhancing the units’ intelligence and operational preparedness to establish security under different conditions are among the other objectives of Imam Ali (AS) drills,” General Pakpour added.

Mohsen Rafiqdoust, who served as Minister of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps throughout the eight years of the Iraqi-imposed war on Iran, had in September said the IRGC Ground Force is five times larger than the US army troops, adding that the IRGC can dispatch 6 million troops to any battlefield in a matter of days.

“Today, the number of the IRGC Ground Force is five times more than the US army and it is the Ground Force which ends the wars,” Rafiqdoust said, addressing a gathering in Tehran.

“The IRGC Ground Force can send 6 million ready-for-combat troops to the battleground in less than 10 days,” he added.

Noting that the country’s warehouses are full of weapons and military equipment, Rafiqdoust said: “Our missiles are ready to be fired at Israel. This has been shown to the Americans and they have been allowed to have videos” (through their broadcast on Iranian TV).

Firing one artillery round against Iran by Israel would mean that “Iran will turn Tel Aviv into dust”, he underlined.