Spokesperson of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters, Ebrahim Zolfaghari. Courtesy 'Tasnim' news agency.
In a statement broadcast on state television, Ibrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military headquarters, said U.S. and Israeli intelligence assessments of Tehran’s military strength were incomplete. “They know nothing about our vast and strategic capabilities,” he said.
According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Zolfaghari added: “Do not think that you have destroyed our missile capabilities, drones, and air defence systems.”
The spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya—described as the central operations room of Iran’s armed forces—said strategic military production in Iran is taking place at sites “unknown to the enemy and beyond their reach.” He stressed that the war would continue until the “humiliation, disgrace, and surrender of the enemy.”
“With reliance on God, this war will continue until your humiliation, your disgrace, your permanent and inevitable regret, and your surrender,” Zolfaghari said.
He also said that “the enemy has received strong and unexpected blows,” warning: “Wait for our more crushing and destructive operations.”
Wednesday night, Trump said in his first national address since the war began, that U.S. forces had achieved “swift and decisive victories” on the battlefield over the past four weeks.
“Tonight, I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” Trump said. He also acknowledged American service members who had been killed and added, “We are going to finish the job, and we’re going to finish it very fast. We’re getting very close.”
He used his platform before a wide audience to tout the success of the U.S. operations and argue that all of Washington’s objectives have so far been met or exceeded, but said Iran would continue to face a barrage of attacks in the short term.
“We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks,” Trump said. “We’re going to bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”
Recent U.S. and Israeli statements have indicated that strategic objectives in the war against Iran are approaching completion. The U.S. Central Command announced Thursday that it had struck more than 12,300 targets in Iran since the conflict began a month ago, while the Israeli military said it had carried out attacks on more than 4,000 targets inside Iranian territory.
Israel and the United States have continued military operations against Iran since 28 February. Tehran has responded by launching missiles and drones toward Israel and targeting what it describes as U.S. bases and interests in Arab countries, although those attacks have caused damage to civilian facilities.
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