Tehran – Earlier this year, the Iranian Army (artesh) attracted attention for its sophisticated, large-scale military operations in northeastern Iran.
The several-day drill simulated repulsion attacks from both traditional military and terrorist invasions, introducing the skills of the Iranian army and the capabilities of domestically produced weapons.
A few weeks later, the Army Ground Forces received a new shipment of domestically-made weapons, which were touted as transformative upgrades. In an interview with Tehran Times, Brigadier General Gholamhossein Soleimani, deputy commander of facilities and logistics, said this modernization effort is ongoing and will cover all units in the near future.
Below is the full interview:
Recent reports show that the Army has received new half-heavy, heavy, and super-heavy equipment. Can you explain in detail the nature of this delivery?
In the 2016 directive, Ayatollah, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, highlighted Ali Khamenei, who had seized Ali Khamenei and said, “We look forward to a commendable effort to increase unit mobility and efficiency according to operational needs.”
The Logistics and Support Department then prioritized prioritization to enhance the mobility of rapid response units across the seven operational zones of ground forces. This included focusing on upgrading to heavy, half-heavy, super-heavy, lighter tactical equipment.
A considerable amount of defense equipment was added to the ground forces at the ceremony on February 27, 2025, led by Admiral Habibora Sayali, the deputy chief of the Iranian Army. This includes a variety of heavy-duty vehicles, half-heavy trucks, light tactical vehicles, ultra-heavy vehicles, various weapons, ammunition, communications equipment, and modern warfare equipment. Importantly, the Logistics and Support Department took on several additional stages of equipment in 2024 in line with its mission.
What are the characteristics that distinguish the Masaf Weapon, the standard Army weapon, from foreigners now?
MASAF individual weapons are designed and manufactured according to the latest global defense standards, incorporating operational experience from ground force personnel and world-class technical expertise. This is a fully domestically produced weapon designed to meet all the needs of combatants on the battlefield and rival international peers.
MASAF achieves shooting accuracy, size, weight and performance comparable to similar weapons, while offering significant improvements over the old G3, including a 3,500-meter range. Its design is based on an analysis of regional conflicts and diverse climatic conditions that best suit the needs of the soldiers.
With regard to maintenance and combat readiness, MASAF was specifically designed to address the limitations of previous models in Iran’s diverse climatic conditions.
The main features of MASAF weapons are:
– Weight reduction
– Ergonomic design tailored to the combatant’s body
– Picatinny Rail Integration
– Improved shooting accuracy
– Performance improvements
– Increased weapon life
What policies will guide the Army’s approach to acquiring and developing new equipment? Will the region place a major emphasis next year?
Following the recent reorganization of ground force units, it is recognized that all other outdated and inefficient equipment needs to be replaced with modern, effective, highly capable gear suitable for new organizational structures.
Therefore, ground forces are actively working to equip operating units tailored to rapid reactive structures with new features characterized by precision fire, smart long range capabilities, automation and network-centric operation.
The ground forces are committed to continuing this modernization policy by adding equipment that embodies these four characteristics until all legacy equipment is completely replaced with new technologies.