Iranian missiles and air defenses ready for another war, Guards outlet says
A missile is launched from a mobile launcher in an Iranian military drill
Iran's repaired air defenses and stock of unused missiles mean it can fend off Israeli attack and wreak more damage in another war, a media outlet affiliated with Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Thursday.
“Iran’s air defense was damaged early in the 12-day war, but since then Iran has rebuilt and modernized its systems. Israel now realizes that Iran’s air defense in a future war would be multiple times stronger,” Tasnim News wrote in an editorial.
One of the most comprehensive official takes from Iran's security apparatus which was badly bludgeoned in the June conflict, the article doubled down on an official narrative that Tehran had triumphed and pledged greater future accomplishments.
Another Israeli attack is highly unlikely, it added, warning that concerns in Iran of renewed hostility in Iran was unhelpful speculation.
“Iran’s missile arsenal remains intact, and some of its most destructive missiles haven’t even been used yet. Any new war would mean greater destruction in Israeli-occupied territories,” the article said.
'Regime change failed'
Israel launched a surprise military campaign on June 13 targeting military and nuclear sites, assassinating senior Iranian commanders and killing hundreds of civilians. In response, Iranian missile strikes killed 29 Israeli civilians.
According to an Iranian government spokesperson, 1,062 Iranians were killed during the conflict, including 786 military personnel and 276 civilians.
The United States capped off the conflict with attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities at Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow with long-range bombers and submarine-launched missiles on June 22. Washington brokered a ceasefire on June 24.
Tasnim also warned that some media outlets and social media users continue to raise the alarm about another imminent Israeli attack. However, it argued that Israel’s core objective “regime change in Iran” had failed.
“In the recent war, Israel bet heavily on political and social collapse in Iran, expecting the public to turn against the Islamic Republic. But what actually happened was the complete opposite of their expectations,” the article said.
In response to the attacks on its nuclear facilities, Iran suspended cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), conditioning any future engagement on new terms.
Iran’s foreign minister said on Wednesday that the UN nuclear watchdog must clarify how it intends to inspect nuclear sites bombed by Israel and the United States.
Israel not positioned for a second attack
The article contended that Israel’s surprise attack was the result of years of intelligence preparation, and that replicating such an operation would require years more planning.
“After decades of intelligence gathering and planning, Israel attempted to catch Iran off guard, assassinating commanders, disabling defense systems and aiming for a swift decapitation strike,” the report said.
“It did kill several high-ranking military officials and nuclear scientists, but failed to achieve its main goal: the collapse of Iran’s political and social structure and its defense systems,” Tasnim added.
Among those killed during the war were several senior IRGC commanders, including Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, IRGC Commander Hossein Salami, IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh and IRGC Deputy for Operations Mehdi Rabbani.
“Israel gambled everything on this surprise attack but lost. Rebuilding its intelligence network will now take years, meaning Israel is not logically positioned to mount another assault,” the report said.
An Iranian analyst said in July that Israel had hacked Iran’s entire air defense system during the war and that more than 100 Iranian missile launchers exploded upon activation.
“Israel has already lost a war it spent decades preparing for. With exposed defense systems, internal political chaos, and Iran growing stronger and more united, a second act of aggression would not only fail, but would bring even more devastating consequences,” Tasnim added.
Efforts to disarm Hezbollah will fail, a senior Iranian military official said Thursday, two days after Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army with ensuring it has a monopoly on weapons in the country.
“They are seeking to disarm the resistance in Lebanon, but they will take that wish to the grave,” said Iraj Masjedi, deputy coordinator of the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, according to Iranian media.
“Resistance forces remain fully prepared and equipped, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is completely ready for any scenario,” he added.
Masjedi's remarks followed Beirut’s announcement Tuesday that the Lebanese army would be tasked with collecting weapons from groups operating outside the state’s command.
Lebanon's cabinet instructed the army to develop a plan by the end of the year aimed at creating a state monopoly on weapons—an implicit challenge to Hezbollah, which has resisted disarmament since last year’s war with Israel.
Hezbollah decried the move as a "grave sin" and vowed to ignore it.
The Lebanese government has long been under international pressure to assert monopoly over arms, particularly from Western states who view Iran-backed Hezbollah’s military structure as a parallel force within the state.
Israel, Armed Forces General Staff spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi said on Thursday, aimed to undermine the Iran-backed network of armed groups in the region.
“The Zionist regime is attempting to alter regional equations, but the resistance front stands firm,” Shekarchi said, naming Hezbollah, Hamas, Yemen’s Houthis, Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi and other groups as active components of what he called a growing axis.
The Iranian government has allocated at least $67.6 million in foreign exchange subsidies for pilgrims attending the upcoming Arbaeen religious procession while the country faces its worst economic crisis since the founding of the Islamic Republic.
According to the Central Bank, each pilgrim traveling to Iraq for the annual ceremony may receive up to 200,000 Iraqi dinars at a subsidized rate, priced roughly $18 below Tehran’s open market exchange.
The Arbaeen ceremony marks the end of the 40-day mourning period following Ashura, the religious ritual commemorating the death of the third Shia Imam, Hussain ibn Ali.
Pilgrims crowd at the Shalamcheh Border Terminal on the Iran-Iraq border during Arbaeen.
With officials projecting that 3.7 million people will cross the border, the total state subsidy amounts to nearly 62,900 billion rials or $67.6 million.
Although small groups of Iranians had made the pilgrimage in the years after Saddam Hussein’s fall in 2003, the numbers surged after 2010, when official data first recorded 40,000 pilgrims.
By 2019, participation reached three million, before declining sharply during the pandemic. The growth has been fueled by active promotion by the governmentand large-scale government investment in roads, healthcare services, and logistical support for pilgrims.
In addition to currency subsidies, state-affiliated charities, municipalities, city councils, and various government bodies allocate dedicated budgets each year to organize the event and provide services along the route.
These include free meals, subsidized transport, and free Wi-Fi access along the main routes and within Karbala.
Roundtrip tickets from Tehran to Najaf—where many pilgrims begin the walk—range between 130 and 150 million rials (approximately $138 to $159), Adel Nourali of Iran’s Airlines Association said this week.
The large portion of each fare allocated to Iraqi airport fees has intensified concerns over concealed state subsidies.
1,550 tons of subsidised food including lamb, chicken, sugar, and rice will be distributed to religious camp organizers at massively reduced rates, Jebreil Baradari, head of Tehran’s Agricultural Jihad Organization said this week.
The offer comes as the cost of meat in Iran has soared and per capita meat consumption has fallen as over one third of the country is now living below the poverty line.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday appointed Ali Larijani as his personal representative to the Supreme National Security Council, two days after President Masoud Pezeshkian named Larijani as the council’s secretary.
With the appointment, Larijani replaces Ali Akbar Ahmadian both as secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and as one of Khamenei’s two designated representatives to the body. Saeed Jalili, who served as SNSC secretary from 2007 to 2013, is the other representative currently serving in that capacity.
“Given Dr. Ahmadian’s assignment to important executive responsibilities, I appoint Dr. Ali Larijani as my representative in the Supreme National Security Council, in accordance with Article 176 of the Constitution,” Khamenei wrote in a formal decree.
Khamenei appoints Shamkhani and Ahmadian to Defense Council
In a separate decree, Khamenei named both Ahmadian and former SNSC secretary Ali Shamkhani as his personal representatives to the Supreme Defense Council, a newly revived body expected to oversee national defense policy and coordinate military planning.
The council is part of a broader institutional overhaul announced after a 12-day war with Israel in June, during which Iranian military and nuclear facilities were hit by Israeli and US strikes.
The Defense Council will include the heads of the executive, legislative and judicial branches, top military commanders, and key cabinet ministers. It will be chaired by President Pezeshkian, according to Iranian media.
Larijani returns to powerful role
Larijani, 67, is one of the most experienced figures in Iran’s political system. He previously served as SNSC secretary from 2005 to 2007, and has held positions including speaker of parliament, Minister of Culture, head of state broadcasting (IRIB), and advisor to the Supreme Leader.
Though considered a conservative close to the Supreme Leader, Larijani has occasionally clashed with hardliners. He registered for presidential elections on three occasions but was twice disqualified by Iran’s Guardian Council. His political tone on diplomacy and domestic issues has softened in recent years.
A document obtained by the Daily Mail lists more than 10,000 individuals from Iran, Syria and Lebanon who were allegedly granted Venezuelan passports, raising concerns over potential infiltration into the United States.
According to the report published Thursday, the list includes names, passport numbers, birth dates and other identifying information for people who would not ordinarily qualify for Venezuelan citizenship. The document covers passports issued between 2010 and 2019 and was compiled by a former Venezuelan official whose identity was not disclosed.
The Daily Mail said the source worked in Venezuela’s internal investigations branch and that his position was confirmed by former US ambassador to Venezuela James Story. The official gave the list to US authorities earlier this year. The Department of Homeland Security did not confirm whether it had received the document and declined to say if it was tracking individuals listed.
Report points to Iran-Venezuela links
The Daily Mail report suggests the alleged scheme may have operated with help from Venezuelan government officials during the presidency of Nicolás Maduro.It also highlights long-standing ties between Tehran and Caracas, including political and security cooperation.
Former US officials cited in the report expressed concern that Iranian-linked individuals may have used the documents to enter South America legally, and later crossed into the United States illegally. The report ties the passport operation to past US findings that Venezuelan travel documents were vulnerable to misuse.
Former officials cite terrorism risk
Jonathan Gilliam, a former FBI agent and counterterrorism analyst, told the Daily Mail that the risk of attacks inside the United States is high following the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites in June. “They get people here, get them in place, and get them supplied and ready to go,” he said.
Thor Halvorssen, a former Venezuelan ambassador for anti-narcotic affairs, said some of the passport recipients may already be inside the United States and integrated into daily life. He said that some might hold jobs in sensitive sectors, but that their identities are difficult to verify. “They are everywhere,” he said.
The document reportedly includes more than 10,000 names, with about two-thirds listed as male.
Diplomatic missions under scrutiny
Halvorssen and others said many of the passports were signed or approved by Ghazi Nasr Al-Din, a former Venezuelan diplomat who served in Syria and was later placed on the FBI’s terror watchlist. In a 2015 notice, the FBI accused him of supporting Hezbollah travel and fundraising efforts.
The Venezuelan Embassy in Damascus denied wrongdoing in a statement to the Daily Mail. “These accusations are false,” the statement said. “Venezuela is a country and a territory of peace and love.”
A 2006 US State Department report warned that Venezuelan travel and identification documents were easy to obtain by individuals not entitled to them, during Hugo Chávez’s presidency.
US Customs and Border Protection reported that more than 380,000 Venezuelan nationals crossed the US-Mexico border between January 2021 and October 2023. In the same period, authorities recorded 382 encounters with individuals on the FBI terror watchlist and 1,504 Iranian nationals, according to the report.
Iran’s Foreign Minister said on Wednesday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) must clarify how it would go about inspecting nuclear facilities bombed by Israel and the United States in June.
“If the agency wants to visit our sites, they’ve been bombed. Tell us—how do you expect to inspect a bombed nuclear facility? Is there a rule, a protocol, a guideline for that?” Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with state TV.
Araghchi criticized the UN nuclear watchdog for failing to condemn what he described as “illegal and savage” attacks on the country’s nuclear sites under its supervision. “This is the biggest violation of international law—truly unforgivable,” he said.
IAEA inspectors left the country following the 12-day conflict and whether Iran allows them to resume their work remains a focus of diplomacy between Iran and the West.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly maintained that US airstrikes "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program but Iran's insistence it will not to renounce enrichment leaves the long-running impasse unresolved.
Talks, not inspection
Araghchi confirmed in the interview that Iran officially invited the IAEA's Deputy Director General to Tehran for a detailed discussion, asserting Iran's view that the framework for working with the UN nuclear watchdog had changed.
"He’s not coming for inspections or evaluations—we have not allowed and will not allow that," Araghchi said without naming the deputy.
Asked how Iran can continue working with the IAEA in light of a recent law suspending cooperation, Araghchi said the legislation only proposes new mechanisms for collaboration.
“The parliament passed a crucial law, effectively tying Iran’s cooperation with the IAEA to decisions by the Supreme National Security Council. Henceforth, all cooperation with the IAEA must go through and be approved by the Council,” Araghchi said.
Israel launched a series of strikes on June 13 targeting military and nuclear sites, assassinating senior commanders and killing hundreds of civilians. Iranian missiles killed 27 Israeli civilians.
The United States attacked the Isfahan, Natanz and Fordow nuclear sites with long-range bombers and submarine-launched missiles on June 22.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom have called on Iran to resume full cooperation with the IAEA, and while Iranian officials have previously indicated some talks might be soon, no definite date has been announced.
Araghchi added that no talks with the United States are finalized but confirmed that some requests have been made.
“There have been discussions and messages from the other side. Whether talks happen in the near or distant future depends entirely on what serves our interests.
“We fight, negotiate, use diplomacy, and rely on our defensive power and our people wherever necessary to secure national interests,” he added.
He added that while messages had been exchanged with the US side, no negotiations had been firmly agreed, and any future talks would depend on what Iran’s interests require.