Iran plans to conduct five days of war games this week to showcase its air-defense capabilities, prepare against missile strikes and warn others against attacking, military officials said, amid questions about whether Tehran will proceed with negotiations over its nuclear program.
The exercises are slated to begin Tuesday and include tests of Iranian long-range missiles similar to the Russian S-300s that Moscow recently blocked, citing concern over Iran's nuclear program.
The exercises will also test military equipment such as radar systems with a range of nearly 2,000 miles.
Iranian Brig. Gen. Ahmad Miqani, commander of the air-defense base in charge of the exercises, said in official media reports that similar drills have been conducted in the past year above nuclear facilities in Fordo, Tehran, Natanz, Bushehr and Esfahan.
The nuclear facilities are seen as high-potential targets for military attacks by the U.S. or Israel.
Both countries have said that while they favor diplomacy to resolve the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, a military option is also on the table.
The U.S. and others say Iran seeks to develop nuclear weapons; Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes.
Negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany are scheduled to resume on Dec. 5. But a venue hasn't been set. Iran has proposed Turkey, while the European Union suggested Switzerland.
In the past few weeks, high level Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have denounced any talks that would entail discussions about Iran's uranium enrichment program. Mr. Ahmadinejad said Iran is willing to talk only about broader security issues with the West.
Military officials, according to official media reports, said this week's war games will be among the largest defense drills in the history of the Islamic Republic, and will involving the Air Force and the National Police as well as the Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Basij forces, its plainclothes militia.
Meanwhile, as part of intensified security crackdowns by Iranian authorities, five lawyers who have represented activists and taken on sensitive human-rights cases were arrested over the weekend.
Iran's judiciary said they had violated the Islamic Republic's "moral standards outside of Iran" and committed security offenses against the state.
Three of the lawyers were arrested at the airport after returning from a trip to Turkey. The five lawyers' whereabouts are unknown, according to opposition websites.
WSJ
The exercises are slated to begin Tuesday and include tests of Iranian long-range missiles similar to the Russian S-300s that Moscow recently blocked, citing concern over Iran's nuclear program.
The exercises will also test military equipment such as radar systems with a range of nearly 2,000 miles.
Iranian Brig. Gen. Ahmad Miqani, commander of the air-defense base in charge of the exercises, said in official media reports that similar drills have been conducted in the past year above nuclear facilities in Fordo, Tehran, Natanz, Bushehr and Esfahan.
The nuclear facilities are seen as high-potential targets for military attacks by the U.S. or Israel.
Both countries have said that while they favor diplomacy to resolve the standoff with Iran over its nuclear program, a military option is also on the table.
The U.S. and others say Iran seeks to develop nuclear weapons; Iran says its program is for peaceful purposes.
Negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany are scheduled to resume on Dec. 5. But a venue hasn't been set. Iran has proposed Turkey, while the European Union suggested Switzerland.
In the past few weeks, high level Iranian officials, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have denounced any talks that would entail discussions about Iran's uranium enrichment program. Mr. Ahmadinejad said Iran is willing to talk only about broader security issues with the West.
Military officials, according to official media reports, said this week's war games will be among the largest defense drills in the history of the Islamic Republic, and will involving the Air Force and the National Police as well as the Revolutionary Guards Corps and the Basij forces, its plainclothes militia.
Meanwhile, as part of intensified security crackdowns by Iranian authorities, five lawyers who have represented activists and taken on sensitive human-rights cases were arrested over the weekend.
Iran's judiciary said they had violated the Islamic Republic's "moral standards outside of Iran" and committed security offenses against the state.
Three of the lawyers were arrested at the airport after returning from a trip to Turkey. The five lawyers' whereabouts are unknown, according to opposition websites.
WSJ
