Commander Calls for Concerted Efforts to Counter Soft War against Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - A senior Iranian military commander cautioned against soft war tactics employed by enemies against the country, and called on the Iranian people of different social strata to stand against the adversaries and thwart their hostile plots.
“When the enemy failed to achieve its goals in the hard wars, it put the soft war on the agenda and tried to confront Iran through such a method,” Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri said in a press conference in the country’s central city of Yazd on Saturday.
Referring to the eight-year Iraqi imposed war against the country in the 1980s, the commander praised Iranian forces for their success in fighting a full-fledged war against Iraq, which he said received "support from a whole host of the arrogant powers."
Iraq, under former dictator Saddam Hussein, invaded Iran on September 22, 1980, imposing a bitter eight-year war on its eastern neighbor.
Brigadier General Jazayeri further cautioned against the menace of soft war tactics in the present era, and added, “Now amid the soft war, all the society’s strata, including the youths, university students and professors, should strive to confront the enemies’ threats and thwart their plots.”
In relevant remarks in September 2013, General Mohammad Ali Asudi, a cultural official at the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps stated that the IRGC is fully prepared to neuter any threat, particularly the enemies’ ongoing soft war against the Islamic Republic.
“The IRGC deems itself duty-bound to be ready in the face of any threat,” he said at the time.
“The threat that is posed to the (Islamic) revolution and people of the country today is the soft war,” the Iranian general warned.
He also added that the IRGC forces have carried out “fundamental planning” both to fight and prevent the soft war, and that all soft-power factors have been employed for an all-out confrontation with soft war.
Iranian officials have in recent years stepped up efforts to counter the wave of cultural onslaught by the western countries.
Last year, Iran launched a base to fight against soft war by hostile powers.
The base is tasked with policy making in the state and military affairs to counter the soft war tactics of the enemies of the Islamic Republic in a concerted manner.
Soft war is a term used by Iranian officials to refer to the cultural invasion and soft intelligence tactics used by foreign countries deemed hostile toward Iran.
The base, which has been staffed by officials from the armed forces as well as from other state organizations, seeks to coordinate issues concerning soft power and soft war in the Armed Forces and their relations with other state bodies.