TEHRAN – Financial support for the country’s Army (Artesh) will continue and be strengthened, a spokesperson for Iran’s Parliamentary Planning and Budget Committee said following a recent meeting with senior military officials.
Abbas Ghodrati Zabarom said the committee had met in recent days with Major General Amir Khatami, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and other military officials.
He said: “Discussions at this meeting mainly focused on the strength and deterrence of the armed forces, including the army, Revolutionary Guards, security forces and law enforcement forces.”
Ghodlati Zabalom also referred to recent statements by Islamic revolutionary leader Seyyed Ali Khamenei, saying that “the enemy made a mistake, but in the end he withdrew,” and that any miscalculations in the future “will definitely face a response that will make us regret it.”
Referring to the recent 12-day war in June, he said Iran was negotiating with the United States when Israel suddenly launched attacks with American support. The June 13 Israeli attack killed a senior Iranian commander, a nuclear scientist, and a civilian. More than a week later, the United States entered the conflict by bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iranian forces retaliated by attacking strategic targets throughout the occupied territories and the largest US military base in West Asia, Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
He added that Iran’s military remains at full readiness, just as it was at the end of the war, when “the enemy went so far as to beg through some of its neighbors for an end to the conflict.”
“In this context, the Planning and Budget Committee emphasized that budgetary support for the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran will continue and even increase,” the spokesperson said.
Godhrati Zabarom pointed out that the meeting also included a review of the overall framework of the military budget. “The military budget was discussed and reviewed, and overall it was a very good and constructive meeting with a focus on strengthening the country’s defense capabilities,” he concluded.