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
Jordan condemns Israel’s seizure of planning powers at Ibrahimi Mosque
- Announcement on Wednesday by Israeli Civil Administration said it had transferred planning powers from Palestinian Authority-run Hebron Municipality to its own Supreme Planning Council
AMMAN: Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs on Friday strongly condemned Israel’s decision to revoke the planning and construction authorities of the Hebron Municipality at the Ibrahimi Mosque, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The ministry described the move as a blatant violation of international law and the historical and legal status quo at the holy site, JNA added.
The condemnation follows an announcement on Wednesday by the Israeli Civil Administration the body overseeing the occupied West Bank, that it had transferred planning powers from the Palestinian Authority-run Hebron Municipality to its own Supreme Planning Council.
The decision was accompanied by approval for a project to construct a roof over the mosque’s internal courtyard, a move that has drawn fierce Palestinian opposition.
The Hebron Municipality also condemned the Israeli decision, describing it as a “serious and illegal violation” and part of a systematic effort to alter the status quo at the mosque and weaken the authority of Palestinian institutions responsible for its management.
In a statement, the Jordanian ministry said Israel, as the occupying power, was acting unlawfully by unilaterally approving construction works at the Ibrahimi Mosque and stripping Palestinian authorities of their administrative powers, warning that the measures undermine the Islamic administration of the site.
The ministry’s official spokesperson, Fouad Al-Majali, affirmed Jordan’s “absolute rejection and severe condemnation” of Israel’s continued illegal unilateral measures in the occupied West Bank, most recently those targeting the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
Al-Majali added that the actions constituted clear violations of international law and international humanitarian law, including the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, as well as relevant United Nations resolutions.
He also pointed to UNESCO’s 2017 decision to inscribe Hebron’s Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
He called on the international community to shoulder its “legal and moral responsibilities” by compelling Israel to halt its illegal measures in the occupied Palestinian territory, protect the cultural and religious heritage of the Ibrahimi Mosque, and preserve its outstanding universal value, which he said is under increasing threat due to Israeli actions.
Al-Majali further emphasized that achieving security and a just and comprehensive peace would remain impossible without fulfilling the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state on 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
