In remarks on Monday, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh said the war in Ukraine has taught Iran an important lesson.
He said the Ukrainians are now grappling with a crisis because they dismantled their deterrent capability years ago.
Denouncing the comments from some insiders that propose limitations to Iran’s military capabilities or compromise with foreign powers, the general said, “Is it possible in today’s world not to have military and deterrent power?”
He warned that a country will be hit from where it is weakest.
Nasirzadeh also hailed the geographical extension of the Iranian model of resistance, adding, “The front of resistance has become indigenized, meaning that they (resistance forces) manufacture their weaponry and equipment by themselves.”
In a televised speech early on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” aimed at “demilitarization” of the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics in eastern Ukraine, collectively known as Donbass.
The two regions broke away from Ukraine in 2014 after refusing to recognize a Western-backed Ukrainian government that had overthrown a democratically-elected Russia-friendly administration.
In 1994, Ukraine agreed to give up nuclear weapons in exchange for security assurances from the US, UK, and Russia -assurances that have now been broken.