Iran was carrying out air defense exercises on Saturday, Iranian state media reported, as the country braces for more friction with arch-foe Israel and the United States under President Donald Trump.
The war exercises come as Iranian leaders face the risk of attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities while further tightening US sanctions on its oil industry through its “maximum pressure” policy.
“In these exercises,… defense systems will practice fighting air, missile and electronic warfare threats in real battlefield conditions… to protect the country’s skies and sensitive and vital areas,” Iranian state television said.
Saturday’s drills are part of two-month-long drills launched on January 4 that have already included war simulations in which the elite Revolutionary Guards defended key nuclear facilities in Natanz against simulated missile and drone attacks, state media said. .
The Iranian military said it is using new drones and missiles in exercises and released images of a new underground “missile city” being visited by Guard Commander-in-Chief Major General Hossein Salami.
This follows Israeli attacks against Tehran-backed Hezbollah and the country’s ally in Syria last month.
But Salami warned in a speech broadcast on state TV of a “false sense of pleasure” among Iran’s enemies, saying the country and particularly its missile forces were stronger than ever.
