Commander Highlights Iran’s Missile Might

“Today, despite being under a scientific and technological siege, we, ourselves, provide all of our needs in all areas and it should be said that we continue to be and formidable,” Lieutenant Commander of the IRGC Brigadier General Hossein Salami said in a speech in the central province of Isfahan on Thursday.

He further pointed to the arrest of US naval forces who had trespassed into the Iranian territorial waters in the Persian Gulf in 2016 and said it proved the IRGC naval forces’ power.

Iran’s forces are also powerful in the air, the commander said, adding that the country’s missiles are prepared to be used to counter the enemies.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy on January 12, 2016, captured the US Navy sailors inside Iran’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf but released them the next day following an apology and after technical and operational investigations indicated that the intrusion into Iranian territorial waters was “unintentional”.

The then US defense secretary, Ashton Carter, later said he was “very, very angry” when he saw footage of 10 US Navy sailors detained by Iranian authorities broadcast by Iranian television.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei awarded Medals of Fath (Conquest) to Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi and four other IRGC commanders who made the “courageous and timely” move to capture the intruding American boats and sailors near Iran’s Farsi Island.

In recent years, the Islamic Republic of Iran has made great achievements in its defense sector and has attained self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and systems, including missiles.

Tehran has repeatedly assured other nations that its military might poses no threat to the regional countries, saying that the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine is entirely based on deterrence.