Iran’s defense minister announced a surprise series of military drills starting Saturday to show the Islamic Republic would not crumble easily like Bashar al-Assad's Syria.
"They are signaling that Yemen and Iran are next after Syria. But the truth is, it is their turn next, as these powers won’t leave them alone," Aziz Nassirzadeh said in remarks carried by Iranian media.
The United States, he said, employs Israel - a "70-year-old cancerous tumor" - to exploit the Middle East's resources, in familiar rhetoric for top Tehran officials.
“We have no issues on the hard warfare front. We are building power by all means and will remain prepared.” Nassirzadeh said, speaking on Friday during a ceremony commemorating Razi Mousavi, a Revolutionary Guards commander killed in Syria last year.
The drills, described as a display of Iran’s strengthened defensive capabilities, come in response to growing regional tensions and threats by Israeli officials to strike Iran directly if their Yemeni Houthi allies keep up missile attacks.
Earlier this week, Gholamali Rashid, commander of IRGC’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters had mooted plans for “powerful defensive and offensive drills” in the coming weeks.
The announcement follows threats by Iranian officials that Tehran would launch True Promise 3, a third retaliatory attack against Israel in response to its October airstrikes on Iran.
However, after the fall of al-Assad’s in Syria, Tehran’s rhetoric on direct retaliation has subsided, with a focus now shifting to defensive readiness.
Nassirzadeh remarked: “We no longer have a presence in Syria, but even our statements instill fear in the enemy, leading them to issue warnings against us. Their fear stems from the strength of the resistance.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has previously vowed to reclaim Syria from opposition forces and encouraged Syrian youth to resist the new government. However, Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Sheibani recently issued a warning to Iran, urging it to avoid interference in the country’s affairs.
The military drills starting Saturday are seen as part of Iran’s efforts to bolster its defensive posture as military setbacks abroad put the home front into focus.
Iran has plunged into multiple crisis in recent weeks, with energy shortages and a rapidly falling currency, creating a sense of weakness amid popular discontent.