Iran demonstrated its military might on Wednesday, displaying the Russian-made S-300 air defense system alongside the locally-made Bavar-373 missile defense system during a high-profile exercise.
The move was a clear signal to Israel that Tehran is still fully capable of defending its airspace, despite Israeli air strikes in October that Israeli officials say caused significant damage to Iran’s air defense infrastructure.
The timing of the maneuver was no coincidence, coming just one day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with US President Donald Trump to strategize on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and regional influence.
On October 26, Israeli warplanes launched a wave of precision strikes on missile factories and military targets inside Iran, targeting sites near Tehran and western Iran. The strikes followed an unprecedented Iranian attack on October 1, in which Tehran launched nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, in one of the most intense attacks in modern times.
“Iran’s enemies mistakenly believe that our long-range air defenses were disabled in October,” the broadcast declared, rejecting claims that Tehran had become exposed and vulnerable.
After the Israeli strikes, then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant claimed that the attack had significantly degraded Iran’s military posture, weakening its offensive and defensive capabilities. He warned that any future confrontation would make Iran struggle to respond effectively, a claim that Iran’s latest show of force seemed determined to refute.
NEWSRAEL: It should be noted that in the NYT reported that during the October attack, the Israeli IAF destroy all of Iran's s-300 systems. These shown are new, but not a tangible threat.