IRANIAN troops are deserting in their droves after being handed just 10 bullets each – while those injured in US-Israeli airstrikes are being left to die, sources have claimed.
As the Iran war enters its third week, frontline units have been left struggling with limited ammunition and inadequate basic supplies – such as drinking water and food.
Sources cited by Iran International described the conditions as “harsh” – and warned that some soldiers perceive them as neglect by commanders.
“In one example cited by the sources, some units were issued only 20 bullets for every two Artesh [regular Army] soldiers, leaving troops with little capacity to respond to potential attacks,” the report said.
Intelligence firm Flashpoint warned of “tensions” between the Army and the Iran‘s Revolutionary Guards as a result – pointing to the “fragility” of the Iranian military.
One of the sharpest points of friction appears to involve medical support for wounded soldiers.
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Sources said that regular army units are suffering significant casualties – but that IRGC personnel have refused to transport injured army soldiers to hospitals despite having access to medical facilities.
It comes as…
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Revolutionary Guards officials are understood to have rejected repeated army requests for assistance, citing shortages of ambulances and blood supplies.
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“[This friction] includes refusal to transport wounded army soldiers and suggests the Iranian military system is under unsustainable internal stress,” Flashpoint said in a briefing.
That strain, however, is reportedly not limited to Artesh – The Islamic Republic of Iran Army.
IRGC – founded in the early days of the 1979 Islamic Revolution by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeiniseen – which are seen as the spine of the regime, are reportedly facing similar conditions.
Even within IRGC missile units – traditionally the best resourced parts of Iran’s military – there have been reports of communications equipment failures and shortages of food and other basic supplies.
The US-Israeli air campaign has struck thousands of sites across Iran, most belonging to the military and the IRGC.
Earlier today, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said that more than 6,000 IRGC operatives, including senior commanders and senior regime officials, have been killed by IDF fire, but the figure has not been independently confirmed.
In addition to killing operatives, the IDF has been carrying out widespread strikes on defence industries in a variety of fields.
Thousands of civilian sites have also been damaged – including hospitals, schools, universities and homes, the Iranian Red Crescent confirmed.
A large explosion also rocked the Ferdowsi Square area of Tehran midday.
Thousands had gathered for the annual Al Quds day rally organised by the government in support of Palestinians, in which they chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America”.
Israel had earlier warned that it would target the area in the capital, but few Iranians would have seen it, as authorities have almost completely shut down the internet since the start of the war.
Footage from the scene showed people chanting “God is greatest” as smoke rose in the area.
This comes as Donald Trump said the US was going to be hitting Iran “very hard over the next week” after previously declaring that the war is now “complete”.
In an interview with Fox News, he said the war would end “when I feel it in my bones”.
He later wrote on Truth Social: “Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth.
“We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time.
“Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.”
Axios also cited three officials from the G7, which includes the UK, as saying that he had told leaders in a virtual meeting on Wednesday that Iran was “about to surrender.”
“I got rid of a cancer that was threatening us all,” the US President had told them.
Trump further addressed the ongoing tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, saying that the US would escort vessels through the key shipping lane.
Asked about helping oil tankers pass through the strait, he said: “We would do it if we needed to.
“But, you know, hopefully things are going to go very well. We’re going to see what happens.”
Iran has continued to launch widespread daily missile and drone attacks on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states, and has effectively shut the lane to any oil.
The newly-elected Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday vowed to continue the strikes and keep the strait closed in his first public statement since succeeding his father.
