Iran to Use New Missiles against Israel in Case of Any Attack: Defense Minister

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with a group of foreign military affiliates residing in Tehran, held on the occasion of “Defense Industry Day”, Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh said, “In the 12-day war, we faced a fully supported power. In this war, the Islamic Republic of Iran did not face only the Zionist regime, but the entire logistical, intelligence, and support capabilities of the United States were present in this war.”

The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran did not rely on foreign resources in the 12-day holy defense in any way, and everything that was used in the war was made by Iran’s own defense industries, he stated, adding that the world witnessed that the missiles launched by Iran hit their targets perfectly and caused great damage to the Zionist enemy.

Although the Zionist regime’s media censorship did not allow the outcome of the Iranian missile strikes to be fully depicted, information about these strikes gradually spread, indicating the capabilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Armed Forces, he said.

“We have much stronger capabilities in using our missiles than in the past, which have not been utilized (yet),” he emphasized.

“The missiles used in the 12-day war were manufactured by the Ministry of Defense a few years ago. Today, we have manufactured and possess missiles that have much better capabilities than previous missiles, and if the Zionist enemy undertakes another act of adventurism (against Iran), we will definitely use these missiles.”

General Nasirzadeh also said that the full power of air defense was used by Israel during the 12-day war, including the THAAD, MIM-104 Patriot, Iron Dome, and Arrow systems. “Despite the use of all these systems, the Zionist regime only prevented about 40 percent of our missiles from hitting in the first days of the war. But in the final days of the war, 90 percent of our missiles were hitting their targets, which made it clear that both our experience had increased and the opposing side’s defense capabilities had decreased. If this trend had continued, the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces would have definitely had the upper hand.”

The Zionist regime waged a war of aggression against Iran on June 13 and struck Iran’s military, nuclear and residential areas for 12 days. The US also stepped in and conducted military attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran’s Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan on June 22.

The Iranian military forces conducted powerful counterattacks immediately after the aggression. The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force carried out 22 waves of retaliatory missile strikes against the Zionist regime as part of Operation True Promise III that inflicted heavy losses on cities across the occupied territories.

Also, in response to the US attacks, Iranian armed forces launched a wave of missiles at al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military base in West Asia.

A ceasefire that came into force on June 24 brought the fighting to a halt.