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Iranian commander breaks silence on wartime arms imports

A prominent Iranian military figure who served as minister of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during the Iran-Iraq War has broken the long tradition of silence surrounding Iran's arms imports during its war with Iraq.
Mohammad Forouzandeh (L), new chairman of the Foundation for the Disinherited and War Disabled, sits with outgoing chairman Mohsen Rafiqdoost (R) during the innauguration ceremony in Tehran July 28. Foroozandeh says he plans to make the sprawling foundation more efficient and cost effective.

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TEHRAN, Iran — Prominent Iranian Brig. Gen. Mohsen Rafiqdoost went into unprecedented detail in a Sept. 26 interview about his time as minister of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). During the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq War, the IRGC had its own ministry within the administration that took care of its logistical affairs. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense was responsible for the logistics of the army.

In an interview with the Reformist Shargh Daily, Rafiqdoost said, “Although at the beginning of the revolution and during the early days of the war, the East and the West were coordinated [against Iran], we still built the defense capabilities of the IRGC with ‘Eastern weapons.’ My first time buying weapons, I bought 2,000 Kalashnikovs and 500 RPG-7s. Later, I would get weapons from Syria and Libya and eventually I connected with North Korea.”

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