A senior adviser to the chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the recent US-Israeli aggression against Iran has exposed the US military as “weaker than what we perceived,” stressing that Iran emerged victorious after defeating Washington’s main objectives.
In an interview with American broadcaster PBS published on Tuesday, Mohammad Reza Naqdi said the past five months had given Iran a clearer picture of the capabilities of the US military.
“In these five months, … we have also seen how the American military is weaker than what we perceived,” he said.
Naqdi stressed that Iran had won the war, saying the longer it lasts, the more experience Iran gains.
“Certainly, victory is on our side, after the defeat of America’s two main objectives, the toppling of the leadership and the breaking up of Iran,” he said.
Naqdi said the US response was marked by “confusion and bewilderment,” stating that Washington lacked a clear strategy and repeatedly changed its objectives.
He pointed to US threats to invade Kharg Island and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the mobilization of US warships, saying Iran had emerged victorious from each attempt.
“Everything they tried, we can show how we were victorious,” he said.
Naqdi stressed that Iran’s objective is to “attain deterrence” so that the country can “live in security” and prevent its enemies from contemplating another attack.
He said one way to achieve that goal would be to prolong the war, impose attrition on the US and ensure that any future aggressor understands that attacking Iran would come at a cost.
A senior advisor to the IRGC’s chief commander says Iran’s production of ballistic missiles and drones exceeds the rate at which the hardware is deployed.
Until the last day of war, Iran’s rockets will be launched
Asked about the number of missiles in Iran’s stockpile, Naqdi stressed that the Islamic Republic does not rely solely on missiles and drones, saying its faith has been central to its ability to prevail.
“First of all, we are not reliant on missiles and drones. If we are victorious, we relied on our faith to be victorious. God is with us,” he said.
He dismissed US and Israeli efforts to count Iran’s missiles, saying the country is capable of producing more missiles each day than it launches.
“Even if this war lasts for years, until the last day, Iran’s rockets will be launched,” he said.
He warned that even if Iran were to run out of missiles, the country would pose an even greater danger to the US because of Washington’s extensive economic interests around the world.
“If there comes a day when Iran has no more missiles left, that’s when we will be even more dangerous for America. Because America has thousands of economic interests throughout the world, and all of them can be easily destroyed,” he said.
Naqdi also said US President Donald Trump and his administration “work for their own interests,” stating that the war coincided with the closure of the stock market, while US officials “send positive messages” when the market opens to raise stock prices.
“If I was in the place of the American Congress, I would call for an investigative committee to compare the assets of Mr. Trump, his family, and his inner circle before the war to their assets after the war,” he said.
The commander also warned that any US nuclear attack on Iran “can end up being a mistake for them.”
“The morning after they use a bomb, all of America’s military bases around the world will be occupied. Today, things are different than World War II. The people of the world have awakened. No one in the world will allow for such a crime to be committed, because the next time it could be themselves,” he said.
Naqdi emphasized that Iran has “no enmity with the people of America,” explaining that the slogan “Death to America” refers to the US leadership.
“Death to America means death to America’s leadership, a leadership that has invaded or violated more than 70 countries since becoming a superpower,” he said.
Iran doesn’t need nuclear bombs
Naqdi stressed that Iran does not pursue a nuclear bomb and does not need one.
“Our nuclear bomb is the hearts of the people of the world that we won fighting oppression. Islamic values and the divine values of the Islamic Revolution are taking over the world. There is no need for nuclear bombs. There is no need for slaughter,” he said.
Asked why the new Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen in public since the assassination of his father, the martyred Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the US-Israeli aggression on February 28, Naqdi said his absence was due to security reasons.
“The strategy belongs to him. Our enemy is criminal and doesn’t abide by any law,” he said, adding, “Naturally, it is due to security. Certainly, there is no other reason.”
Asked about allegations that the IRGC had refused to speak to US media, Naqdi said, “We never received a request to reject it. We would like for our voice to reach the ears of people in Western countries. It’s Western media that don’t like our voice to be heard,” he said.
“There’s nothing we do that’s indefensible and outside the values of humanity that we would want to cover up or not discuss.”
Naqdi’s remarks came against the backdrop of the ongoing US-Israeli aggression against Iran, which began on February 28 and prompted Tehran to launch daily missile and drone strikes against US and Israeli military targets across the region before Tehran and Washington signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 17.
Renewed US strikes in recent weeks and other violations of the MoU have, however, once again drawn an Iranian military response and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
In other news, reports have emerged that sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln attempted to jump overboard have intensified concerns over the mental health and living conditions of the carrier’s roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines, as its deployment has stretched into a ninth month amid the US’s ongoing violations targeting Iran.
On Tuesday, The Navy Times and Stars and Stripes reported multiple thwarted incidents involving sailors attempting to jump from the carrier. The crew has spent 250 consecutive days without making land, according to the reports, described as a record for a US aircraft carrier in modern times.
Families confront Navy leadership
About 200 relatives of Lincoln personnel attended a town hall meeting with Navy officials in San Diego last Thursday, where concerns over the prolonged deployment and sailors’ wellbeing were raised directly with acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and other officials.
One spouse said her husband had texted her that day saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow.”
Another woman told Cao that the Navy had “broken trust between us and the leadership,” Stars and Stripes reported.
The Navy Times quoted Annabelle Loma as saying her husband had attempted to jump overboard after his deployment was repeatedly extended.
“He’s scared. He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out his 13-year career is ruined, just like that,” she said.
The publication also quoted another sailor’s wife, who said her husband had prevented a fellow crewmember from jumping by grabbing the person and bringing them back onto the deck.
Lawmakers criticize conditions
Democratic Congressman Mike Levin of California described conditions aboard the carrier as “moldy showers, broken toilets, laundry down for weeks, long stretches with no hot water, a meal that came down to half a cup of rice and two tortillas. No soap, deodorant, or toothpaste.”
Congressman Jason Crow, a former Army Ranger, said the strain on personnel and their families was “building week by week.”
The Lincoln left San Diego on November 21 and was originally intended for the Pacific before being redirected to West Asia after the United States and the Israeli regime began their latest bout of wholesale unprovoked aggression against Iran.
Its deployment, initially scheduled to end in May, has since been extended.
Hegseth in denial
Earlier complaints about food, water, mold, and broken laundry facilities were dismissed by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as “more fake news.”
Levin responded, “The least their country owes them (the personnel) is hot water, a working toilet, and a real meal. Hegseth cannot even manage that, and he has the nerve to look their families in the eye and call them liars.”
The reports came amid a separate account of a deadly confrontation aboard the Abraham Lincoln in which seven sailors were reportedly killed and several others wounded.