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
Lebanon approves release of former minister accused of corruption
- Salam is the only ex-minister to be arrested since the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019
- The official added that the bail was paid, with procedures ongoing to secure his release from prison
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s judiciary approved the release on bail of former economy minister Amin Salam on Tuesday after six months of detention over corruption linked to contracts deemed suspicious, a judicial official said.
Salam, who served in the cabinet of former prime minister Najib Mikati from 2021 to 2025, is the only ex-minister to be arrested since the start of Lebanon’s economic crisis in 2019.
The official, who requested anonymity, told AFP Lebanon’s judiciary “agreed to release former economy minister Amin Salam on bail of nine billion Lebanese pounds, equivalent to $100,000” and a travel ban.
The official added that the bail was paid, with procedures ongoing to secure his release from prison.
In June, another judicial official said Salam had been arrested in connection with alleged “falsification, embezzlement and suspicious contracts.”
Salam’s adviser Fadi Tamim was sentenced in 2023 to one year in prison for blackmail and personal enrichment at the expense of insurance companies.
The former minister’s brother Karim Salam was also arrested earlier this year in a “case of illicit enrichment, forgery and extortion of insurance companies,” committed “under cover of the minister himself,” the official said in June.
Many in Lebanon attribute the economic crisis to mismanagement and corruption that has plagued state institutions for decades.
President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who both took office this year, have vowed to make the fight against endemic corruption a priority, as part of the reforms demanded by international donors.
Both have vowed to uphold the independence of the judiciary and prevent interference in its work, in a country plagued by official impunity.
In September, former central bank governor Riad Salameh, who faces numerous accusations including embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion, was released after being detained for over a year by paying a record bail of more than $14 million.
