Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi declared that Iran would “certainly” destroy Israel during an inspection of a strategic missile facility belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iranian state television aired footage of the visit on Tuesday, hours after US President Donald Trump described Iran as “effectively finished militarily” and days after the IRGC announced it had lifted its 2,000-kilometer limit on ballistic missile ranges.
Accompanied by IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Brig. Gen. Majid Mousavi, Abdollahi toured the underground complex, which state-run news agencies described as a new “missile city.”
State television reported the unveiling of new weapons, including a “surprise” missile, without disclosing its name, range or specifications. Iranian media revealed neither the facility’s location nor the date of the visit.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi had announced on Saturday that a new underground complex would soon be unveiled.
The footage showed ballistic missiles inside tunnels, warheads, mobile launchers and storage facilities for missiles and drones.
Abdollahi and Mousavi addressed officers whose faces were concealed. No other officials appeared in the footage.
State television claimed the facility housed liquid- and solid-fueled ballistic missiles and cruise missiles that had penetrated Israeli and American air defenses during the “last two wars,” striking every target designated by Iran’s operations command.
‘We will certainly destroy them’
Addressing the officers, Abdollahi praised their work as “extraordinary.”
Referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he declared: “Netanyahu recently said, ‘Either we destroy Iran or they destroy us.’ ... Clearly, we will certainly destroy them.”
“They came with everything they had but failed to achieve their objective,” he added, describing Israel and the United States as the clear losers in the war.
“If the enemy makes a foolish move, our response will extend beyond the region,” he warned, promising further “surprises” in the next war.
Mousavi described capabilities inherited from previous missile commanders as a reliable defensive force serving Iran and implementing the supreme leader’s directives.
“We now have a credible level of readiness to confront any threat, both within and beyond the region,” he declared.
“If necessary, we will bring all enemy capabilities, inside and outside the region, under fire and leave them with nothing but defeat.”
He promised additional weapons and equipment as preparations progressed, pledging that his forces would serve the Iranian regime on every battlefield, as during the war that began last February and the 12-day war in June 2025.
Beyond the 2,000-kilometer limit
A state television correspondent reported that a “new defensive doctrine” had taken effect following Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s order to respond to threats of any scale or type with an “immediate and effective response without geographical restrictions.”
The broadcaster presented the inspection as an implementation of that directive.
Its correspondent interpreted Abdollahi’s remarks as confirmation that missile-range restrictions had been lifted and claimed upgraded warheads were substantially more destructive.
The report provided neither technical specifications nor evidence supporting claims that the missiles could penetrate air defenses.
Khamenei issued the directives on October 31 during his first publicly announced meeting with senior military commanders since taking office.
Participants included Abdollahi, Iranian Army Commander Amir Hatami and IRGC Commander Ahmad Vahidi.
Khamenei also ordered an updated target list covering US and Israeli “material and non-material” assets.
On Saturday, Mohebbi confirmed the removal of the 2,000-kilometer ceiling.
“That restriction has been lifted for us,” he declared, without specifying a new range or whether Iran possessed missiles exceeding the previous limit. He promised to demonstrate those capabilities “in practice.”
