Tehran: Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Ali Abdollahi has stressed the need to rely on domestic capabilities and the country's elite youth to boost air defense's electronic and cyber warfare capabilities. In a message to the commander of Iran's Air Defense Force on the occasion of Air Defense Day on Tuesday, Major General Abdollahi congratulated the force's personnel and highlighted the key expectations outlined in the appointment decree of martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, the general described those expectations as a clear roadmap for the transformation and advancement of the strategic force, particularly amid the current critical circumstances facing Iran. The top general said Iran is currently facing the 'third imposed American-Zionist war,' adding that the country's defense strategy should focus on offensive defense capabilities and the creation of an integrated, active, dynamic, and preemptive air defense network.

Major General Abdollahi also stressed the need to connect all reconnaissance, radar, and missile layers through an intelligent and resilient network capable of intercepting and neutralizing potential threats at the greatest possible distance. He further called for the localization and smartification of defense systems through the development of advanced technologies and the deployment of systems designed specifically for electronic and cyber warfare.

'Reliance on domestic capabilities and elite young people' is essential to enhancing the Air Defense Force's electronic and cyber warfare capabilities, the commander said. He also called for greater synergy with other branches of the Armed Forces as part of the General Staff's broader strategy to provide a 'timely, revolutionary and effective response' to any level or conventional or modern military, cognitive or hybrid threat against the Islamic Republic.