Iran’s army said on Saturday that its military doctrine is moving from a defensive to an offensive posture, citing lessons learned during the country’s recent conflicts.
Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, spokesman for the Iranian army, told state news agency IRNA that the change had developed gradually during what he described as the 12-day and 40-day wars.
“Our country’s military doctrine was defensive in the past, but gradually during these two wars, we witnessed the military doctrine moving from a defensive posture toward an offensive one,” Akraminia said.
He said the new approach involved faster and broader responses to attacks as well as preemptive military operations.
Akraminia also said the army had developed a reward scheme in the event of a US ground incursion into Iranian territory. Under the plan, Iranian military personnel or civilians legally possessing hunting weapons would receive 5 billion tomans, approximately $26,000, for killing or capturing US troops entering the country.
The reward would rise to 10 billion tomans, around $53,000, if the action were carried out by a woman, he said.
According to Akraminia, the army would also purchase any weapon used in such an action for twice its value and place it in a military museum under the owner’s name, while providing the individual with a replacement.
The Iranian military spokesman also claimed that US influence in the region had declined significantly, pointing to the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement as evidence of changing regional dynamics.