Defense Minister Nasirzadeh Says Israeli Attacks Do Not Interfere With Iran's Missile Production Process

Illustration of the Iranian missile launch. (Wikimedia Commons/Hossein Velayati)

JAKARTA - Iran's missile production was not disrupted following Israel's airstrike against the country, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was quoted as saying on Wednesday by state media.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday congratulated Israeli pilots for damaging Iran's missile production capabilities in the October 26.

"The enemy has been trying to injure our defense and offensive systems but not very successful because we have made arrangements and found out," Defense Minister Brigadier General Nasirzadeh said.

The airstrike was said to be in retaliation for the October 1 attack, when Iran launched nearly 200 missiles into Israeli territory, in response to the death of Hamas Political Bureau Head Ismail Haniyeh, Secretary General Hezbollah Hassan Nasollah, and senior general of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

"Their supply is now ready, and this affects their calculations. Both their attack and defense capabilities have weakened," Israel's Defense Minister Gallant said Monday.

Meanwhile, two American researchers told Reuters last week that Israeli airstrikes hit buildings used by Iran mixing solid fuel for ballistic missiles. It "may have significantly hampered Iran's ability to mass-produce missiles".

"The (production) knowledge is original, so there is no interference in the missile manufacturing process," said Iran's Defense Minister, which also implies the defense system may have been damaged in the attack as he said the system was "replaced the day after".

Iranian state media also reported on Tuesday that Defense Minister Nasirzadeh said the country was still capable of "taking dozens more missile attacks" against Israel as seen on October 1 and April 13.