Boosted civil defense aims to thwart foreign attacks by ‘identifying and monitoring threats’; Report

According to military sources, Iran has upgraded its air defences and installed civil defence systems in 51 cities to deter any potential foreign attack. This comes as tensions between Israel and the US have risen. With the assistance of the civil defence apparatus, Iran will be able to ‘identify and monitor threats by using round-the-clock software according to the type of threat and risk,’ according to Brigadier General Mehdi Farahi, deputy defence minister.

According to Farahi, the complexity of battles has increased in recent years, and hybrid types of warfare, such as cyber, biological, and radiological attacks, have supplanted traditional wars. He avoided naming the countries that might pose a threat to Iran. Brigadier General Qader Rahimzadeh, commander of Iran’s air defence headquarters, stated that his forces were at their peak readiness at the time.

According to Rahimzadeh, the nation’s airspace is currently the safest for authorised planes while also being the most dangerous for potential aggressors. Iran has accused Israel and the United States of carrying out cyberattacks against the country’s infrastructure in recent years. Iran has also accused Israel of sabotage of its nuclear facilities, which neither country has admitted or denied.

Military tensions between the US and Iran have long persisted in the region. Even as both countries seek nuclear talks, Iran recently detained American military drones in the Red Sea. According to the US Navy, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ attempt to seize an unmanned surface ship controlled by the US 5th Fleet in the Gulf was thwarted on Tuesday. Iran claimed that the drone posed a threat to maritime trade.

Separately, official media reported that security agents detained 12 Baha’i believers in northern Iran. Because the main Baha’i shrine was built in Israel more than a century ago, the Islamic Republic regards the Baha’i faith as a heretical branch of Islam and accuses its adherents of having ties to Israel.

Amnesty International and other human rights organisations have condemned the recent increase in persecution of religious minorities, which has resulted in several arrests and the demolition of homes. Since Iran’s Islamic revolution in 1979, hundreds of Baha’i believers have reportedly been imprisoned and executed. The administration denies that anyone has been imprisoned or killed because of their religious beliefs.