Gen. Ali Mohammad Naeini. Photo: X
Before his death, Naeini issued a statement insisting Tehran was still able to build missiles despite the attacks coming from Israel and the United States.
In a statement, the IRGC "condemned the assault as a cowardly act of state-sponsored terror, vowing retaliation and reaffirming its resolve against imperialist aggression."
The assassination of Naeini caps a week in which the Israeli army killed three top Iranian officials, including the head of the National Security Council, the head of the Basij, and the intelligence chief.
Shortly before he was killed, in a report quoted by Iran’s state-run IRAN newspaper, Naeini insisted that Tehran was still building missiles, seeking to counter a claim by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that "Israel had won the war because Tehran could no longer build or launch missiles."
“Our missile industry score is [perfect], and there is no concern in this regard because we are producing missiles even during war conditions, which is amazing, and there is no particular problem in stockpiling.”
“These people expect the war to continue until the enemy is completely exhausted,” the general said of the Iranian public. “This war must end when the shadow of war is lifted from the country."
Overnight, the IRGC launched a wave of cluster and fissile missiles at various targets in Israel, sending thousands of Israelis into bunkers for safety.
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