Iran mounts low profile celebration of Army Day
Tehran breaks tradition of elaborate celebration of armed forces; officials cite 'weather conditions' as reason for cancelation of 140-aircraft exhibition flight
Iran on Saturday adopted a low profile for the annual celebration of its armed forces, without the thundering declarations normally made be President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or the presentation of long-range missiles.
The official reason given for the cancellation of the elaborate fighter jets' flight planned to make the day was "weather conditions."
The flight was to include more than 140 aircrafts, a record number for Tehran, but only a few dozen helicopters were spotted flying in the city's skies.
Soldiers march in Tehran (Photo: AP)
The procession was also devoid of medium-range missile theoretically. The 2008 celebrations included a presentation of Iran's Ghadr-1 missile, said to be able to reach targets 1,000 miles from Iran.
Ahmadinejad's speech was shorter and of a more moderate tone than usual. Referring to the Iranian nation's influence in the Middle East and the world, Ahmadinejad said that the Islamic Republic's army plays an important role in maintaining national security as is "the guarantor of security in the region."
He also assured his listeners that the Iranian nation was "ready to a large involvement in the management of the world and the establishment of security based on justice in many parts of the world."
By contrast, in 2006, he warned that the Iranian army "cut the hand of any aggressor ", before repeating this warning the next years and last year, he noted that "with the resistance of the Iranian people, the great powers have bogged down."
