ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Iranian army’s chief of staff on Monday said that permanently improving the country’s air defenses is among Tehran’s “priorities,” noting that significant steps have been taken to boost military capabilities in the country’s south and west. 

Iran has claimed since the 12-day war with Israel in June that it has expanded its armament and defense systems.

“The continuous and permanent improvement of the Islamic Republic of Iran's air defense capability is one of the country's priorities,” Abdolrahim Mousavi told reporters on Monday, as cited by the state-owned IRNA news agency.

In the past few months, “significant steps” have been taken to enhance Tehran’s air defense capabilities, he added.

In June, Israel killed top brass Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists with airstrikes, prompting retaliatory attacks by Tehran, with the two trading salvos of missiles and drone strikes for 12 days. The US also bombed the key Natanz and Fordow nuclear sites in the country at the end of the skirmish.

Ali Mohammed Naeini, spokesperson of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stated that Iran is moving towards new achievements in weapons, tactics, and operational planning, warning that “if a war were to break out,” Iran’s adversaries would face new military capabilities, reported the semi-official Mehr news agency. 

Earlier in December, Iran launched a five-day joint counterterrorism exercise in the country’s northwest while unveiling the “Sahand” destroyer and the “Kordestan” naval base in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

The unveiling in the south included the induction of fast missile boats, multi-purpose unmanned aerial units, unmanned smart submersibles, and coastal and sea-based electronic warfare, missile, and intelligence systems into the navy. 

The expansion of drone bases has long been Iran's policy to address what it believes to be growing regional security challenges. 

Iran has introduced major plans in recent years to boost its unmanned aerial capabilities, particularly for surveillance and intelligence gathering purposes, as well as precision strikes.