Iran’s Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh has revealed that the country has established weapon production facilities in “several countries,” just two months after a deadly aerial war with Israel. His comments were made during a televised interview with the Young Journalists Club, an Iranian news agency.
Nasirzadeh stressed that missile development remains a key priority for Iran’s military. He suggested that these new facilities could be officially announced soon. He also claimed that Iran has successfully tested “advanced and manoeuvrable” warheads in the past year.
Reflecting on the June conflict, which lasted 12 days, he said Israel would not have been able to intercept Iranian missiles if the fighting had continued beyond two weeks.
“If the war had gone 15 days, in the last three days the Israelis would not have been able to hit any of our missiles,” he said. According to him, this forced Israel to accept a US-brokered ceasefire.
The minister also revealed that Tehran held back one of its most advanced weapons during the conflict — the Qassem Basir missile. This medium-range ballistic missile, with an estimated range of 1,200 kilometres, is described as “the most precise weapon” in Iran’s arsenal.
His remarks coincided with Iran’s naval drills on August 21, where forces test-fired cruise missiles at targets in the Gulf of Oman and the northern Indian Ocean. This marked Iran’s first military exercise since the June clashes.
Decades of US sanctions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution have prevented Iran from importing modern weapons, pushing it to develop its own systems and upgrade older ones.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
