TEHRAN (FNA)- The Islamic Republic of Iran�s Army in a statement on Monday lauded the Iranian Armed Forces' braveries against the Ba'athist regime of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during the eight-year Iran-Iraq War (1980-88).

The Army's statement was issued on the occasion of the 36th annual Sacred Defense Week which starts on September 21.

The Army hailed the sublime position of Sacred Defense martyrs, and said, "They sacrificed their lives to safeguard the honor and dignity of the future generations."

It pointed to the eight years of Iranians' Sacred Defense against Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist regime as a shining light for the next generation resulted from sacrifices and braveries of the Iranian Armed Forces.

The statement commemorated the memories of late Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran Imam Khomeini and those of all wartime martyrs, specially the 48,000 members of Army who sacrificed their lives in battlefields.

It cautioned the country's younger generation that the country's enemies have shifted from the hard war to the soft war.

The statement stressed that Iran's Armed Forces, Army in particular, would stay vigilant against any plots made by the enemies.

"Iran's vigilant troops would closely monitor any move made by the enemies and will not allow the country and the nation face the least threat," it added.

Saddam�s Air Force launched surprise airstrikes on ten Iranian airfields to destroy the Iranian Air Force on September 21, 1980, making use of the then advanced military armaments supplied by a number of hostile countries towards Iran plus more than 80 billion dollar of their financial support.

Iran thwarted the attack through numerous successful operations.

Saddam's invasion came less than two years after the Islamic Revolution.

A large number of volunteers joined the Iranian Armed Forces to defend their country against the Iraqi aggressor under the leadership of the late Imam Khomeini.

By Fars News Agency