Brigadier General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh made the remarks in a meeting with newly-appointed Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the outlines of which was reported by Fars news agency on Saturday.

Hajizadeh stressed the need for further cooperation and said the Defense Ministry can play an effective and decisive role in enhancing the defense power of the IRGC’s Air Force.

“In the new term of the Defense Ministry, cooperation in the field of upgrading the missile power of the IRGC will be expanded,” he added.

Brigadier General Ashtiani, for his part, expressed the Defense Ministry’s readiness to interact and cooperate closely with the IRGC’s Air Force, saying, “With the extensive industrial and production capacities and platforms in the Ministry, we will be able to take big steps in providing and meeting the defense and military needs of the Armed Forces, especially the IRGC’s Air Force.”

Ashtiani described the production capabilities of the Defense Ministry in the field of missiles as “very extensive, advanced and technological,” underlining that meeting the entire needs of the IRGC’s Air Force will be the first priority of the Defense Ministry.

Iran’s Air Defense Force successfully tests the domestically-manufactured Mersad-16 missile system at the country’s central desert.

Iranian military experts and technicians have in recent years made great progress in indigenously developing a broad range of equipment, making the Armed Forces self-sufficient in this regard.

Iranian officials have repeatedly underscored that the Islamic Republic will not hesitate to build up its defense capabilities, emphasizing that such abilities are entirely meant for the purpose of defense and will never be subject to negotiations.

In another meeting on Friday, IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami exchanged views with Brigadier General Ashtiani and discussed regional issues with the newly-appointed Defense Minister.

Salami pointed to the enemies’ attempts to exert pressure on the Iranian nation through persistence on their enmity, stressing that such feud should be dealt prudently.

The commander of the IRGC says Iranian borders enjoy full security in the hands of the country’s armed forces.

“The enemies of the Islamic Revolution and the Iranian nation have not given up any tactic to put pressure on the Islamic establishment and the Iranian nation, and despite their inadequacies over the last 4 decades, they continue to insist on their enmity and resentment,” Salami said.

“Every day, these deep animosities are revealed with special complexities and tricks that need to be dealt with complete intelligence and insight,” he added.

Salami underlined the need for using modern and strategic systems and equipment to deepen and develop Iran’s defense capabilities and meet the needs of the Armed Forces, especially those of the IRGC.

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In an interview with ISNA news agency on Wednesday, First Brigadier General Mehdi Saqafifard, the deputy head of the planning department of Khatam Al-Anbia Air Defense Base, said the Air Defense Force has become self-reliant and rendered ineffective the sanctions imposed on the country by the West.

Prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he said, Iran was only able to detect flying objects from a distance of 380 kilometers using Western-supplied equipment.

Today, however, the country has been finalizing projects that enable the Air Force to intercept targets within a distance of up to 3,000 kilometers, said the commander, adding that the Air Force units operate radars that have a detection radius of 800 kilometers.

Saqafifard also said that the number of radar platforms has increased by about 400 times in the country, compared to the time before the Revolution.

Radars have had their technology upgraded from old interception systems to hybrid mode, he said, noting that radars are currently equipped with optical and sound-detection sensors, and other types of sensors that cannot be mentioned.

“At a low anti-cruise altitude, we have at least five to six projects that are between the testing and operational phases, including Majid, Nawab, Zubin and Dezful systems,” he said.

“After 10 years of endeavor in the field of directed energy, we have been able to reach a point that the countries possessing this technology claim to be standing at. Directed energy means that we can get rid of the MAVs intruding into our skies. That means hitting a $900,000 cruise missile at a cost of only $10,” he explained.

The commander also pointed to the progress that the Air Defense Force has made regarding electronic warfare.

“In the field of electronic warfare, we have reached a point that the world does not believe,” he said.

Following the non-delivery of Russia’s S-300 missile defense system, Iran managed to manufacture Bavar-373 with the guidance of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and efforts of the Defense Ministry knowledge-based companies, Saqafifard said.

“Today, the Bavar-373 strategic system has nothing less than the S-300, and in some areas it is even more advanced. In the near future, we will hear good news from this system to break the record and reach the levels of the next system, the S-400.”

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