'Saudi masterminding terror attacks against Iran'

A senior Iranian military commander says Saudi Arabia is masterminding terrorist attacks against the Islamic Republic by training and funding terror organizations.

Chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC)’s Ground Force Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour said Iran has arrested terrorists that confessed their affiliation to Saudi Arabia and others. 

Pakpour said the Saudi kingdom is striving hard to make Iran insecure.

"Right now, countries like the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are engaged in organizing and equipping these groups but the reason why no (terrorist) act is committed is due to our preparedness."

On Monday, Army chief commander General Hamid Reza Pourdastan said two Daesh members infiltrated Iran's borders in March but they "were destroyed at the very beginning after entering the country."  

Pakpour said, "We have intelligence about these terror groups and we will contain any move in its inception."

The IRGC, he said, will stage major military maneuvers code-named the Great Prophet (PBUH) in the southeastern parts of Iran.

The three-day drills will be held in the provinces of Sistan-and-Baluchestan, Kerman, South Khorasan and Hormozgan from April 12 to April 14.

According to the commander, the maneuver aims at maintaining the military preparedness of the IRGC to confront major security threats, such as terror attacks, and improve security in the region. 

Packpour also underlined the importance of the role performed by the IRGC in Syria, stating that "if we do not fight the terrorists in Syria, we will have to fight them on our land."

Iran’s Army has also deployed its Special Forces to Syria on an advisory mission, Pourdastan acknowledged.

The IRGC has "the main responsibility for advisory operations on the ground in Syria but as we are dealing with a proxy war and we have to boost our defense capabilities on a par with this situation and gain enough experience, we decided to send a number of our forces into the mission," he said.

"So they will be able to both play an advisory role and also later train the Iranian Army’s rapid reaction forces," he added.

Pourdastan reiterated that the Iranian Special Forces are advised to have a monitoring role but they will defend themselves in case they come under attack.

The Iranian Army sent a number of its forces from the 65th airborne division to Syria in late March. The troops have been advising the Syrian army and the national defense forces against the foreign-backed terrorists in the northern province of Aleppo.

On Sunday, the Army suffered its first loss in Syria as one of its officers was killed during battles with Takfiri terrorists. 

Mohsen Qitaslo fought within the ranks of Brigade 65 in the Iranian Army, known as the "brigade of green berets," the Tabnak news website said.

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