Iran displays its military might

Parachutists were dropped from a helicopter over the parade area near the tomb of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the inspiration of the 1979 Islamic revolution and founder of the Islamic Republic in Iran

Analysts said that the military display was a show of defiance after a week in which the French foreign minister urged the world to prepare for war with Iran

Thousands of goose-stepping members of the regular army and the elite Revolutionary Guards saluted senior political and military leaders in a march-past
lran has shown off its military strength at an annual parade to mark the start of the eight year war with Iraq
At least 300,000 Iranians and more than 160,000 Iraqis were killed during the 1980-1988 conflict
"Anyone who launches an aggression will seriously suffer the consequences of this aggression," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, said after the parade
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, reviewed the troops as the military unveiled a new long-range missile called the Ghadr-1, which it said could hit Israel and US bases in the Gulf
Three Saegheh jet fighters, a new generation of domestically produced military aircraft, flew above the parade