On Tuesday, the Iranian military, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), initiated a significant air defense exercise near the Natanz nuclear facility, aimed at enhancing protection against potential aerial threats. This comes amid heightened regional tensions and recent international political shifts.
During the initial phase of the drills, air defense units executed strategies to safeguard the nuclear site, employing point-defense tactics to combat various simulated aerial threats, including under conditions mimicking electronic warfare.
Brigadier General Ghader Rahimzadeh, head of the Khatam al-Anbia Air Defense Base, announced that Iran has deployed several undisclosed defense systems around critical sites nationwide, aimed at deterring enemy actions. “These systems are unknown to our adversaries,” Rahimzadeh stated in a press briefing on Monday.
The backdrop to these drills includes last year’s incident where Israel reportedly targeted an Iranian S-300 missile system radar, highlighting vulnerabilities in Iran’s defenses according to satellite imagery assessments.
In response to escalating threats, including Israeli airstrikes on strategic locations in Iran and the recent U.S. presidential election which saw Donald Trump’s return, Iran’s military activities have intensified. According to the Financial Times, IRGC spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naeini confirmed that the winter military exercises have nearly doubled in scale this year.
Israel has been accused of carrying out numerous covert operations within Iran since 2010, focusing on nuclear and military targets. The frequency of these attacks increased following a major explosion at Natanz in July 2020, which significantly damaged the uranium enrichment infrastructure.
This latest round of military exercises underscores Iran’s commitment to bolstering its defensive capabilities in an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment.