The deputy chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says Iran’s air defence systems shot down more than 200 enemy aircraft, including drones and manned aircraft, during what he described as the recent US-Israeli aggression.
Speaking at a ceremony on Tuesday commemorating the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Major General Mostafa Izadi claimed that the downing of more than 200 enemy aircraft had prompted serious public scrutiny in the United States and fuelled internal instability in Israel, Iran’s English-language Press TV reports.
He added that the enemy had entered the war with a calculated scenario aimed at “regime change” and the disintegration of Iran, but had suffered defeat on all fronts and failed to gain access to the country’s nuclear industry.
Turning to the role of the Iranian people in the conflict, Izadi emphasised that their conscious participation had thwarted all enemy plots, strengthening national cohesion and the authority of the state more than ever before.
He also noted that, according to available information, 80 per cent of young Americans oppose war with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Izadi described the “Islamic Republic’s system of Velayat-e Faqih” as the foundation of Iran’s current strength and position, adding that it must be protected.