ABNA24 - An advisor to the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force has highlighted a significant shift in the technological trajectory of Iran’s missile program, noting how its activities have progressed “beyond reverse-engineering” foreign weapons systems.
Speaking in an interview on the occasion of the IRGC Aerospace Force Day on Monday, Brigadier General Ali Belali said the expansion of domestic technical expertise has paved the way for Iranian specialists to design and manufacture new missiles according to the operational requirements of the country’s Armed Forces.
As an example, he pointed to the Hormuz missile, which has been developed to detect and strike enemy radar systems by exploiting the signals they emit and homing in on sources emitting radar waves.
Dismissing claims of missile stockpile depletion
Addressing attempts by Iran’s enemies to undermine perceptions of its military capabilities, Belali noted how following the latest rounds of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic, the enemies again sought to create the impression that the country’s missile stockpiles have been exhausted.
The advisor rejected the narrative, arguing that the maturity of the domestic missile industry meant that production was no longer dependent on foreign supplies.
He maintained that Iran’s reliance on indigenous raw materials, manufacturing capabilities, and technical expertise has enabled it to sustain the development and production of the weapons required by its Armed Forces, despite sanctions and external restrictions.
“Even if they put up barbed-wire fences and concrete walls around the country, they still cannot prevent the production of Iranian missiles,” he said.
“The Islamic Republic began developing its missile capabilities with two launch platforms and a number of imported missiles. Today, however, it has acquired the capability to design and manufacture various types of missiles, air defense systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles,” he said.
‘Iran’s missile industry more indigenous than its Persian carpet industry’
To illustrate the extent of domestic production, Belali made a comparison with one of Iran’s best-known traditional industries, asserting that missile manufacturing has become even more indigenous than the “production of Persian carpets.”
Explaining the basis of this self-sufficiency, the advisor’s remarks focused on Iran’s ability to obtain and process the materials required for missile production without depending on foreign suppliers.
According to Belali, Iran has access to the basic resources needed to manufacture different types of missile propellants, adding that the raw materials used in producing both solid and liquid propellants were sourced and processed domestically.
The country’s mineral resources and petroleum derivatives have helped establish independence in this area, while the expertise of Iranian specialists has enabled the missile industry to overcome its reliance on foreign suppliers, he added.
Citing martyred Leader’s legacy
The advisor, meanwhile, cited the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as once describing missiles as “the birth certificate of Iranian youth,” hailing the efforts of young Iranians towards the industry’s development and independence from foreign contribution.
Belali traced the origins of Iran’s drive to develop an indigenous missile capability to the war imposed on the country by Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein in the 1980s, when Iraqi forces subjected Iranian cities and residential areas to extensive aerial and missile attacks.
He said the continuation of the attacks, coupled with the need to establish a deterrent against Iraqi aggression, made acquiring missiles a fundamental defense requirement for the country.
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