TEHRAN – Major General Hossein Salami, commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), has shown an imminent transformation in the country’s defense system by being demonstrated immediately on the ground.
At a ceremony in Tehran honoring the late President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday, Salami provided some details and described the progress as a fork in military innovation.
“In recent weeks, we have reached an unprecedented milestone in our defensive capabilities, and the impact of which speaks to itself very quickly, so I don’t detail it today,” he said.
The announcement is based on a track record of military innovation by Iranian indigenous peoples, particularly in air defense.
The Bavar-373 system has been operational since 2019 and is a flagship operation comparable to the Russian S-400, responsible for its 300-kilometer engagement range, advanced radar immunity to jamming, and the ability to track stealth aircraft and ballistic missiles.
The Bavar-373-II, an upgraded variant announced in March, has improved accuracy and has been able to intercept long-range targets at high speeds.
Similarly, the 15 Khordad system attracted global attention in 2019 by defeating the US RQ-4 Global Hawk drone, detecting stealth aircraft at 150 km and introducing its ability to detect intercept cruise missiles, drones and fighter jets within a 120 km range. Recent drills have confirmed the ability to simultaneously target up to six projectiles, including unmanned combat aircraft (UCAVs).
Complementing these systems are new platforms like Arman, designed for short-range defense against drones and low-altitude threats, and 358 systems designed to accurately accommodate drones, helicopters, and jets with precise homing and autonomous navigation.
These advances, developed under severe sanctions, highlight Tehran’s doctrine of independence as a cornerstone of national security.
“Trump’s Riyadh is a statement about Iran that is far from reality.”
General Salami reserved sharp criticism of President Donald Trump’s recent remarks in Saudi Arabia, where Trump contrasted Iran’s economy with Riyadh’s agricultural projects and offered Tehran a “new path.”
Salami dismissed the overture as hypocrisy, saying, “The gap between (Trump’s) delusion and Iranian reality is as vast as heaven and earth. You imposed sanctions on our sick drugs and labeled them as terrorists.
The commander also summoned an explanation of Iranian people in 2019, accusing them of being “very hostile,” and questioned, “Why have we come to pretend to be our country’s terrorists? Iranian people see through this hypocrisy.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian President Masuud Pezeshkian accused Trump of rhetoric of “rooting it into arrogance and historical blindness” during his national speech.
“The threat only strengthens our country’s resolve,” Pezeschkian argued. “The US President can’t grasp the ingenuity of our youth. Young people will turn sanctions into a stepping stone for progress.”