TEHRAN: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have added long-range missiles and drones to the force’s navy, official media said Friday, amid heightened regional tensions following Hamas leader’s killing in Tehran blamed on Israel.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological arm of Iran’s military which has links to Tehran-aligned armed groups across the Middle East, played a key part in the Islamic republic’s first direct attack on Israel in April.
Iranian state TV on Friday said that “a large number of new anti-ship cruise missiles were added to the IRGC naval forces by the order of the Guards chief.”
The missiles “have new capabilities” with “high-explosive warheads and being untraceable,” it added.
According to the report, a total of 2,654 military systems including long-range and medium-range missiles, drones for combat and reconnaissance, and electronic warfare units were added to the Guards’ naval forces.
IRGC chief General Hossein Salami, speaking at an event where some of the new weapon systems were showcased, stressed the importance of being able to “stop the enemy from afar.”
“If we cannot engage with the enemy in the depths of the sea and oceans at any desired point and stop the enemy from afar, we will naturally have problems at our national borders,” he said.
“In today’s world, one must either be strong in order to survive and be safe, or surrender. There is no middle way.”
The unveiling of the weapons came as the region, already affected by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since early October, was on high alert after Iran and its allies have vowed retaliation for the killing last week of Hamas’s political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
Israel, blamed by the Palestinian militant group, the Islamic republic and others for the attack, has not claimed responsibility for it.
Following Haniyeh’s killing, Iranian officials and military commanders have promised to take action against Israel, while calls for regional de-escalation have grown.
On Thursday, Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri, told AFP that Israel had committed “a strategic mistake” and should “pay a price” for the Tehran attack.
Iran backs Hamas and has repeatedly hailed the group’s October 7 attack that triggered the Gaza war while denying any direct involvement.
A series of tit-for-tat escalations since the start of the war, which has drawn in Iranian allies in Lebanon, Yemen and other parts of Middle East, led to Tehran launching hundreds of missiles and rockets directly at Israel in April.
The October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,699 people, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.
Iran says Guards navy gets ‘large number’ of new missiles, drones
https://arab.news/c9dxq
Iran says Guards navy gets ‘large number’ of new missiles, drones
- IRGC played a key part in the Islamic republic’s first direct attack on Israel in April
- The missiles “have new capabilities” with “high-explosive warheads and being untraceable,” it added
2 US service members and one American civilian killed in ambush in Syria, US Central Command says
- The attack is the first to inflict casualties since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad a year ago
DAMASCUS, Syria: Two US service members and one American civilian have been killed and three other people wounded in an ambush on Saturday by the Daesh group in central Syria, the US Central Command said.
The attack is the first to inflict casualties since the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad a year ago.
Central Command said in a post on X that as a matter of respect for the families and in accordance with Department of War policy, the identities of the service members will be withheld until 24 hours after their next of kin have been notified.
Shots were fired at Syrian and US forces on Saturday during a visit by American troops to a historic central town, leaving several wounded, Syria’s state media and a war monitor said.
The shooting took place near Palmyra, according to the state-run SANA news agency, which said two members of Syria’s security force and several US service members were wounded. The injured were taken by helicopters to the Al-Tanf garrison near the border with Iraq and Jordan.
SANA said the attacker was killed, without providing further details.
A US defense official told The Associated Press that they are aware of the reports and did not have any information to provide immediately. The official spoke on condition of anonymity for not being authorized to speak to the media.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least three Syrian security members were wounded as well as several Americans. It added that the attacker was a member of the Syrian security force.
The US has hundreds of troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the Daesh group.
Last month, Syria joined the international coalition fighting against Daesh as Damascus improves its relations with Western countries following last year’s fall of President Bashar Assad when insurgents captured his seat of power in Damascus.
The US had no diplomatic relations with Syria under Assad, but ties have warmed since the fall of the five-decade Assad family rule. The interim president, Ahmad Al-Sharaa, made a historic visit to Washington last month where he held talks with President Donald Trump.
Daesh was defeated in Syria in 2019 but the group’s sleeper cells still carry out deadly attacks in the country. The United Nations says the group still has between 5,000 and 7,000 fighters in Syria and Iraq.
US troops, which have maintained a presence in different parts of Syria — including Al-Tanf garrison in the central province of Homs — to train other forces as part of a broad campaign against Daesh, have been targeted in the past. One of the deadliest attacks occurred in 2019 in the northern town of Manbij when a blast killed two US service members and two American civilians as well as others from Syria while conducting a patrol.
