TEHRAN, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) launched war games on Sunday near the borders with Iraq's Kurdistan region, a day before a Kurdish independence referendum, Iranian State broadcaster IRIB reported.
IRIB said military drills, part of annual events held in Iran to mark the beginning of the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, are centered in the Oshnavieh border region.
The war game, described as a "security drill" and code-named Muharram, is being held under the supervision of the IRGC's Hamze Sayyid al-Shohada Base, Tasnim news agency also reported.
High-ranking commanders, including IRGC Lieutenant Commander Brigadier General Hossein Salami and IRGC Ground Force Commander Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, were present in the operation zone as the drills kicked off.
Various military units, such as the IRGC infantry, the artillery, the electronic warfare units, ground force airborne division, missile units and drone squad have taken part in the war game.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the drill, General Pakpour said the purpose of the exercise is to boost coordination among the military units and carry out joint operations involving various branches.
He also noted that the drill's zone used to be a hotbed of counter-revolutionary militants in the past, who have been cleansed following the IRGC's mighty operations.
Also, the spokesperson for the drill, General Habib Shahsavari, said the exercise is aimed at simulating the conditions in a real war.
Shahsavari said that any hostile plan against the country's frontiers will draw a decisive response from the armed forces.
Clashes with Iranian Kurdish militant groups based in Iraq are fairly common in the border area.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has resisted calls by the United Nations, the United States, Britain, the Iraqi government, Iran and Turkey to delay the referendum who fear it could further destabilize the region.
On June 7, the Kurdish President Masoud Barzani announced his intention to hold a referendum on the independence of the Kurdish region from Iraq on Sept. 25.
