Missile cities only part of Iran”s defense capabilities
The Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri made the remarks on Sunday night after the IRGC Navy unveiled a new underground base housing cruise missiles designed to target destroyers in strategic southern waters.
Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri emphasized that under the directive of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the IRGC Navy has moved toward developing a highly mobile and revolutionary naval force. He revealed that Iran’s defense systems are stored hundreds of meters underground and can be deployed and activated within an extremely short timeframe.
He noted that the systems showcased on Saturday have been armed with land-based mobile launchers, complementing existing naval missile systems.
Thanks to Iranian-engineered technology, these systems no longer require coastal presence for operational deployment, he underlined.
Highlighting their long-range capabilities, Tangsiri explained that these missile systems could be launched from deep within Iranian territory, striking targets hundreds of kilometers away in open seas.
Regarding their technological advancements, he pointed out that these systems feature state-of-the-art cruise missile technology, rivaling global standards. Unlike traditional linear-trajectory missiles, these are fully maneuverable, highly precise, and equipped with intelligent target-recognition systems, according to him.
In a direct message to adversaries, Tangsiri warned against underestimating Iran’s military capabilities, while reassuring the Iranian people that their guardians remain unwavering in their commitment to national security and sovereignty.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has unveiled a new underground base housing cruise missiles designed to target destroyers in strategic southern waters.
IRGC Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami visited the “missile city” on Iran’s southern shores on Saturday.
During the visit, Salami inspected the combat readiness of the IRGC Navy’s missile units at the new facility.
The upgraded missiles stationed in the subterranean base are also equipped to counter electronic warfare and can be operational in the shortest time possible.
This is the third underground missile base unveiled by the IRGC in less than a month.
On January 18, the IRGC Navy showcased an underground naval missile base in an undisclosed location in the Persian Gulf.
Earlier, on January 10, the IRGC’s Aerospace Force had unveiled another underground missile city.
Iran says its ballistic missiles are an important deterrent against the United States and Israel, insisting that its missile program is non-negotiable.
Early in January, the Iranian Armed Forces launched massive military exercises across the country. The war games included drills in which the IRGC defended nuclear installations in Natanz in central Iran against mock attacks by missiles and drones.
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Zelensky says ready to start conflict settlement talks
“[After the conversation with US President Donald Trump] “we should move on to some kind of format of conversation with Russians. And I would like to see the United States of America, Ukraine, and the Russians at the negotiating table. … And, to be honest, a European Union voice should also be there. I think it would be fair, effective. But how will it turn out? I don’t know,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press.
Communications are maintained with Trump’s administration but consultations are general by nature thus far, Zelensky added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier that Zelensky is not a legitimate leader and cannot abolish his own veto on talks with Moscow but there are ways to do so if there is a desire.
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IRGC Navy unveils new subterranean base
Cruise missiles with the capability of countering enemy destroyers’ electronic warfare are stored in the IRGC’s new underground missile city, Sepah News reported.
The report added that the missiles, which have undergone significant upgrades to their weapon systems and electronic warfare countermeasures, can be deployed in the shortest possible time.
IRGC Chief Commander Major General Hossein Salami and Commander of the IRGC Navy Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri unveiled the facility on Saturday. They inspected the latest combat readiness status of the IRGC Navy as well.
Back on January 18, the IRGC Navy unveiled an underground naval missile base built on the shores of Iran’s southern waters to house a large fleet of fast attack craft and other vessels.
Iranian Armed Forces, including the IRGC and the country’s Army, have been continuously enhancing their military hardware and combat readiness in line with the directives of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The forces have vowed to defend the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of the threats by the Iranian nation’s enemies.
The Islamic Republic launched some 200 missiles at the Israeli entity’s military, and espionage and intelligence bases all over the occupied territories on October 1 as part of Operation True Promise II.
The operation came in response to the regime’s assassinations of senior leaders of the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and a senior IRGC commander.
In the early hours of October 26, Israel targeted two Iranian border provinces, Ilam and Khuzestan, as well as Tehran. The country’s integrated air defense system successfully intercepted and countered the aggression.
Iran has stressed it will respond to the recent Israeli act of aggression against the country and will not abandon its rights.
Source: Ifp Media Wire
Trump issues first airstrike order in second administration
“These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies,” Trump posted on social media.
“The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many terrorists without, in any way, harming civilians.”
In a post on X, the office of the president of Somalia said they had been informed of the US strike targeting senior ISIL ringleaders in the northern part of the country, BBC reported.
Trump did not name any of the people targeted in strikes.
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No country dares to violate Iran”s sovereignty
During a visit to Iran’s defense ministry aerospace industries complex, Pezeshkian emphasized that the government fully supports the development of the country’s defense industries, stating that Iran’s military advancements deter any foreign aggression.
Pezeshkian visited the Aerospace Division of the Ministry of Defense on Sunday morning where he inspected various defense and space achievements.
Praising the exhibited technologies as a testament to the creativity and innovation of Iranian youth, Pezeshkian said, “There was a time when our enemy could attack us freely. During the [imposed] war, [the Ba”athist regime of] Iraq had unrestricted access to our land and airspace, allowing them to act as they wanted.”
He stressed that Iran’s modern military advancements now ensure that Iranian soil is no longer vulnerable to foreign threats or ambitions.
Reaffirmed that Iran’s military doctrine is defensive, Pezeshkian stated, “Our enemies can no longer subject our people to missile strikes and bombings as they did in the past. What we see here today is the embodiment of Iran’s defensive strength, designed to protect the Islamic Republic—not to attack others.”
He further emphasized Iran’s commitment to strengthening its defense capabilities through the efforts of dedicated and innovative Iranian scientists and engineers, saying that the Islamic Republic will continue to develop our defense power, not to threaten any nation, but to ensure that no country dares to violate our sovereignty.
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Iran’s president visits latest defense, space achievements
Accompanied by Defense Minister Brigadier General Aziz Nasirzadeh, President’s Chief of Staff Mohsen Haji Mirzaei, and Government Spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani, the president engaged with specialists in defense and space industries.
Upon arrival at the Defense Ministry’s Aerospace Organization, President Pezeshkian paid homage to the martyrs of the Ministry of Defense before starting his tour.
He got a first-hand view of new advancements, including the Simorgh launch and satellite carrier system.
Recalling the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, he emphasized that Iran’s defensive capabilities are now a “symbol of strength and progress.”
“At the beginning of the imposed war, the Ba’athist regime bombarded the Iranian people from both land and air, but today, our strength in the defense industries has become renowned,” he said.
He underscored the importance of developing defense power through the talents of young, creative individuals and specialized scientists to ensure that no country could threaten Iran’s sovereignty.
The day was marked as National Space Technology Day in Iran’s official calendar in commemoration of the launch of the Omid satellite by Iranian scientists on February 2nd, 2009.
Source: IFP Editorial Staff
Hezbollah chief to deliver speech on Nasrallah funeral
Sheikh Naim Qassem will deliver the speech on Sunday to comment on the regional developments and the issue of the funeral ceremony of former Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Earlier, media reports suggested that the funeral ceremony of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will be held on Sunday, February 23, in Beirut.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of Hezbollah, was martyred in a massive Israeli air attack on Beirut on September 27, 2024.
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White House wants Zelensky to hold elections
Washington wants Kiev to have presidential and parliamentary elections, potentially by this year’s end, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Ukraine conflict, Keith Kellogg.
According to the report, Kellogg and other White House officials have discussed asking Kiev to hold the votes as part of a potential truce deal with Moscow, RT reported.
Speaking to the agency, Kellogg said that both the presidential and parliamentary elections “need to be done.”
“Most democratic nations have elections in their time of war. I think it is important they do so,” the special envoy said. “I think it is good for democracy. That’s the beauty of a solid democracy, you have more than one person potentially running.”
Parliamentary and presidential elections in Ukraine scheduled for October 2023 and March 2024 were not held after Vladimir Zelensky announced in December 2023 that they would not take place while martial law imposed during the conflict with Russia remains in force.
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Iran unveils new ballistic missile (+VIDEO)
During the Iranian President”s visit to the missile achievements exhibition of the defense ministry, the Etemad ballistic missile with a range of 1700 km was unveiled.
This missile is 16 meters long and 1.25 meters in diameter and is the latest ballistic missile of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics.
The Etamad missile holds a guided warhead until it hits the desired target.
MP/TSN3249508
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Palestinians freed by Israel show signs of ‘torture, starvation’
As part of ceasefire accord between Hamas and Israel, 183 Palestinians were released from Israeli jails. They emerged wearing stained grey prison jumpsuits and exhibiting signs of years of detention.
Several of them looked tired and frail as they made the short walk from the bus to the European Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, before being cheered through the crowd and reunited with their families.
“Every time prisoners are released, we find the prisoners’ bodies reflecting the level of crimes committed against them, including torture that is unprecedented in its level after October 7, starvation crimes, systematic medical crimes, and the infection of a number of them with scabies, in addition to the severe beatings that the prisoners were subjected to before their release, which continued for days according to many of their testimonies, and which in some cases led to rib fractures,” the organisation said in a statement.
“The Prisoner’s Society confirms again that the occupation practices organized terrorism against the released prisoners and their families, through several methods that have been monitored, the most prominent of which are the severe beatings that the released prisoners were subjected to, and the threats that reached the point of killing if any reception party was organized or if the family showed any sign of reception.”
One of the released Palestinians stated, “For the past 15 months, we were exposed to the most brutal torture … the Israelis treated us in inhumane ways. They treated animals better than us.”
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Red Cross staff expressed outrage at the way the Israel Prison Service handled the released prisoners from Ketziot Prison on Saturday.
According to their accounts, Palestinian detainees were released handcuffed with their hands above their heads with a band that read: “The people of eternity does not forget.”
Hamas announced the “abuse and torture” Palestinian prisoners endured “confirms the ugliness of what [they] are subjected to” in Israeli prisons.
It added in a statement that its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, did not fail to provide the necessary healthcare to Israeli captives despite the conditions in Gaza, including Israel’s relentless bombing and attacks that killed more than 47,000 people in the besieged enclave since October 2023.
“The good physical and psychological condition of the enemy’s prisoners proves the values of our resistance and its moral commitment towards the prisoners, while the criminal occupation commits the most heinous violations against our prisoners in jails,” the statement read.
Sources told Al Jazeera that one Palestinian, Hussam Shahin, will be transferred to hospital after he underwent surgery without anaesthesia while in jail.
Under the terms of the ceasefire deal, 33 captives held by Hamas in Gaza are to be freed in the first six weeks of the truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians, many of whom have been serving life sentences in Israel.
Source: Ifp Media Wire
Prisoner swap shows Israel has failed to annihilate Qassam
“Scenes of the prisoner exchange showed that the occupiers have been defeated in the war, and the annihilation of al-Qassam has become an illusion”, the Hamas official said on Saturday in reference to the 15-month-old war on Gaza, which Israel launched on October 7, 2023, with the stated goal of destroying Hamas whose military wing launched the unprecedented Al Aqsa Storm Operation on Israeli positions earlier that day.
The prisoner exchange also sent the message that the martyrdom of al-Qassam commanders has strengthened the group, Abu Zhuri further said, referring to the killing of the Palestinian military commanders, including senior ones, during the Gaza war.
He made the comments hours after Israel and the Palestinian Hamas Resistance Movement carried out the fourth prisoner exchange under a ceasefire agreement that took effect on January 19 and paused brutal Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Israel released 183 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for three prisoners held by Hamas.
The Resistance movement said in a statement that the large crowd of Palestinians attending the exchange ceremony was tantamount to a “real referendum” deeming Resistance as the path to liberation of Palestine and its sanctities.
The transfer of Israeli prisoners in front of a platform painted by images of Resistance commanders shows the loyalty of al-Qassam members, sending the message that they will continue fighting against the Israeli regime, Hamas further said in its statement.
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54 killed in Sudan market attack by paramilitary group
The attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the Sabrein Market was the latest in a series of deadly attacks in the escalated civil war that has wrecked the northeastern African country, AP reported.
There was no immediate comment from the RSF, which has been battling the military since April 2023.
Khalid al-Aleisir, minister of culture and government spokesperson, condemned the attack, saying that the casualties included many women and children. He said the attack caused widespread destruction.
“This criminal act adds to the bloody record of this militia,” he said in a statement. “It constitutes a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”
Sudan’s Doctors Syndicate said one mortar shell hit meters (yards) away from al-Naw Hospital, which received most of the market casualties. It said most of the bodies were of women and children, adding that the hospital has a significant shortage of medical teams, especially surgeons and nurses.
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Iran’s naval missile production advancing on daily basis
Major General Hossein Salami, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that the IRGC Navy’s capabilities are rapidly advancing, with its missile production rate constantly updated to meet modern warfare needs.
Major General Salami made the remarks during the unveiling ceremony of new naval equipment for the IRGC Navy in Bandar Abbas, south of Iran.
The IRGC Navy has successfully stored all its coastal missile systems in secure and reinforced underground tunnels, ensuring their protection and operational readiness, he said.
Salami further revealed that these underground facilities, known as “missile cities,” have been established along various coastal and inland locations, each housing a vast arsenal of missile systems.
The IRGC commander emphasized that Iran’s latest missiles now exceed a range of 1,000 kilometers, giving Iran the ability to launch high-precision strikes from deep within its territory against both land and sea targets.
“These missiles have undergone significant advancements in range, accuracy, and destructive power,” he stated, adding that the IRGC Navy has seen both qualitative and quantitative leaps in its offensive capabilities.
Salami further noted that Iran’s missile systems, naval vessels, and maritime strike capabilities have been significantly upgraded, incorporating the latest technological advancements for both static and mobile warfare.
In a message to adversaries, Salami asserted that the IRGC Navy remains an unpredictable force, stating, “The enemy cannot accurately assess our capabilities because we are constantly evolving. Our missile production is ongoing, and this power is immeasurable and unstoppable.”
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