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Ahmad Reza Pourdastan, deputy commander-in-chief of the Iranian army, said that the army was "fully aware of the weaknesses of the Americans" and that in the event of an American attack, it would deal a blow to the enemy in any region it could in order to defend Iran's independence, people, and territorial integrity. Pourdastan was speaking in Farsi on the Iranian Al-Alam TV on September 24, and the interview was translated into Arabic.
Ahmad Reza Pourdastan: "With regard to the armed forces, we have determined the strengths and weaknesses of the Americans, and we have drawn up our military doctrine accordingly – the doctrine that pertains specifically to military operations. On this basis, we have also determined our tactical doctrine, in the event of an American attack. We have also practiced this in our maneuvers, so that if America decides to attack us, we will be entirely ready to defend ourselves.
"We are fully aware of the weaknesses of the Americans. This does not mean that if the Americans attack, we will restrict the defense of our homeland to within our borders. We shall strike at the Americans in any region. In our efforts to defend our country's independence, the people of our country, and our territorial integrity, we shall deal a blow to the enemy in any region whatsoever. We shall defend the territorial integrity of our lands. To this end, we have begun to determine the necessary solutions. Our decisions and our defense programs are ready."