Iran Deploys Additional Anti-Ship Missiles, Multiple Rocket Launchers On Qeshm Island In Strait Of Hormuz (Photos, Videos)

Absolutely stellar overview of Iran’s recent military achievements, your insight on Iranian military matters is quite detailed and much appreciated, thank you for the professionalism that is sorely lacking here on SouthFront.

You mind expanding a little bit more on Iran’s Ballistic Missile, Cruise Missile and Quasi Ballistic Missile programs? Especially when it comes to their efficacy in a modern conflict and future development down the road.

Thanks a lot in turn for your appreciation sir. I merely did research on publicly available data. When it comes to the detail of Iran’s capabilities in general, one particular forum has experienced members (some pro-regime, some anti, and some in the middle, quite the crowd :p) with sometimes an incredible level of scientific knowledge and insight into what exactly seems to be going on in Iran’s defense works and happen to be very factual and sober when it comes to theoretical projections of open conflict based on available hard data. Many URls on specialized defense blogs and publications or websites can be found there, and its sorted by clear categories. I took a great deal of my general culture through browsing where they sent me. https://defence.pk/pdf/forums/iranian-defence-forum.152/

Lol, you don’t mind me asking if you have an account on PDF?

Sorry , never had one ! I browsed in read-only, which is sufficient to have access to all publications, AFAIK. Never felt the need to actually write and ask questions so far though !

Ah no worries haha, just was curious since I’ve been a member on PDF for around 4 years now.

LOOOL ! we do hang around some common web corners indeed xD I might have read you for years without ever realizing xD (I used to browse it when it was a site in itself and not even a sub-section of PDF, circa 2010)

omg lol, I was also a member of the old IMF as well!

I miss that forum so much…what a shame, the Iranian section of PDF does have some esteemed members like AmirPatriot and PeeD but a lot of it is just hot garbage from time-to-time haha.

Nice to know there are still those out there who have a good grasp of what Iran can actually do. Thank you again!

Yeah man you don’t say, those two members count among the most distinguished and informative people I “know” on that topic. Say my regards to them if you can , as I never could do it directly myself, short of having anything truly constructive to contribute lol xD Reading them taught me so much and led me to so much insightful research… I’m also glad to see it’s still possible to cross paths with aware and attentive people like you on geopolitical matters wary of rethorics and preferring facts to hubris and sloganeering.

there are credible sources that the foundations associated with the clerical regime sit on hundreds of billions of usd worth of assets – i have even seen reports estimating the foundations linked to the supreme leader alone to have close to 90billion usd in assets. what is that money sitting there for when you have not achieved hermetic air defence on the pretext that your resources are limited? how will those assets help you when you are six feet under and your cities lie in ruins? do you think refraining from provoking the adversary through calculated actions will subvert their intention to ruin and utterly destroy you? You, like the ir/gc and the mullahs have seriously misread the enemy. five hundred years of history have shown the only thing they understand is naked brute power and nothing else. power is the only thing that will keep them at bay, not any perceived docility on your part. you seem not to understand the existential nature of the struggle you are engaged in, a mistake which i think the mullahs will regret terribly when it is too late. that is the difference between you and kim il sum/jong il and jong un. they understood what is at stake and took all necessary measures to develop credible unimpeachable deterrent capability. unlike you they were very poor and had no money, but they understood the irrevocable priorities for their own safety. you on the other hand with all your money are still relying on the good will of your enemies. You will regret it.

Oh I do get your point SLII, don’t get me wrong, the Mullahs in their corruption are one of the clear enemies of Iran’s preparedness. Corruption is widespread and systemic, which eats away a lot of the funding allocated to each project (namely the air-force ones), but this is not specific to the Iranians, every military-industrial complex has its inherent loss, Lockeed and its tens of billions of US-taxpayer dollars wasted in DOA project like the Zumwalt destroyers (let alone the F-35) are also proof of that. And Iran once tried the North Korean route into going nuclear and we know where that ended, even Russia and China turned their geopolitical back on them and the whole country was on the brink, even worse than it is today. There is also frictions and fratricidal competition between the regular forces, the Artesh, and the IRGC getting the brunt of the yearly budget for their own on political bases rather than technical or strategic priorities, all of that is also true and i’m the first to point them out.

With that said, I merely differ with you on the observation of the current military balance of power, and in my books and for whatever it’s worth, I consider that their level of deterrence has been enough for more than a decade to pre-empt any imperial temptation on the part of the US into going into a fully-fledged conflict with Tehran. THey had ample opportunities to start a hot war even during the Ahmadinejad era, where Iran’s military capabilities where drastically smaller in key defense sectors namely the air-defense. Despite all their hubris and saber-rattling and even high-ranking killings that have more symbolic and political power than actual military value, and they refrained from crossing some red-lines, like direct kinetic attack on Iranian assets in Iran itself. Deterrence as it stands seems to be working and Iran despite all the deficiencies in its economic and military structure steadily continues to grow in naval, missile, and air-defense fields.

Of course that does certainly not mean that a re-elected and emboldened Donad with nothing more to lose will not finally be the crazy POTUS to cross that hot war threshold and go Bush Jr on Iran, but so far, the odds aren’t stacked in favor of such scenario. Even within the super-belligerent and irrational Trump administration, coolers heads still exist among US general and the Pentagon, and their understanding of the strategic picture as it stands “today” seems to be preventing them from green-lighting the most aggressive postures from the political class. How long will this sort of fragile equilibrium last is another question altogether and depends on non-military factor, I conceded gladly and I have no answers to that.

I never said that endemic and widespread, systemic AND systematic corruption at the top of the state by the clerical Mafia wasn’t a major impediment to Iran’s development and economy, let alone it’s high-end military R&D. And yes, also agree, the Mullah will be busier trying to find a way out of the country with gold bar in their private planes rather than staying home and diverting their personal fortunes to help defend the country. These people have no God or country, they only have their bloody greed, an assertion I grant you gladly.

The thing is,my point wasn’t to go in length about how much potential that inept cast has so far abysmally cost Iran in every possible field, including but not reduced to is military R&D or industrial capability. Rather, was I merely busy implying that considering the current level of deterrence that they have been able to achieve for a couple decades of high-tension geopolitical context, Iran in its current state and even taking into account the many shortcomings of its military-industrial complex also due to fratricidal competition between the regular forces, the “Artesh”, and the IRGC taking the bulk of every year’s budget without regard for priority fundings . One example of it being air-force being in dire need of replenishment and modernization and for years having to make due with barely enough to maintain their current dwindling inventory.

For 20 years straight, the likes of Netanhyahu have been saber-rattling non-stop about striking Iranian nuclear sites “tomorrow” or “the next month”, and the mad dog PM even scrambled strike packages twice and got stopped dead in his tracks by IDF general and member of his own cabinet unwilling to risk the fallout and direct consequence of such an attack considering the balance of power and known Iranian capabilities both in counter-attacking their F-16Is launchpads and shooting them down over their vast territory. The very fact that Israel has so far attacked, without exception whatsoever, every single possible state, group or entity that has once opposed to it anywhere in the middle-east and hesitating so much in attacking the elephant in the room in its fortress is enough proof to me that their overall strategy is working.

The air defense did not become a priority until maybe 2011, because attaining the needed level of ballistic capabilities took both time and ressources. Their diversity, reliability and most and foremost, precision, demonstrated for all experts and analysts to see in the January strike was the peak of that decades-long uphill effort. And despite having ample opportunity to strike them as well, even the Trump administration so far has stopped short of direct attacks against Iranian infrastructure, and stick to making threats and actions against their Iraqi proxies instead. No matter how dire their internal shortcomings may be, the current trend and pace of their industrial and technological development of their C4I IADs seems more decent than not.

Considering how vast and layered has Iran’s air defense apparatus and networked sensors have become, it is only a matter of time before they manage to gradually lock whatever remains of important skies. The Mullahs must be taken down, possibly by the only legitimate entity one could think of : its own people, and ideally part of its own armed forces, like in every global revolt against an oppressive leadership. I have strong belief that this time will come sooner rather than later.

And btw, Iran did try to go the North Korean nuclear route, but a bit too late and with its enemies using the Korean failure as an experience to preempt Iran way quicker. Many experts and reports I have read clearly state that Iran’s ballistic design and overall radar and missile tech surpassed North Korean design past 2007-8, which shows the level of prowess and prioritization they effectuated in that regard. Now yes, I’ll say again, things would have gone many times faster and better had Ian not been governed by a bunch of overweight clerical fat cats. I consider myself a man of facts, and this is also hard facts that only fools and pro-regime zealots would close their eyes on.

Regarding the “overweight clerical fat cats”, you may be right about that, but is that any different from overweight non-clerical fat cats in other countries? There are very few countries in the world where that is not endemic.

I agree that it inhibits certain things, but that is life. Do they need to be taken out? Unlike you, I don’t know, but it is for the Iranians to decide, not for the overweight fat cats outside Iran, as you say though not in those words.

They need in my view to be taken out yes, and solely by their own people that have been suffering repeated waves of increasingly murderous repression and unthinkable levels of theft of the oil income (estimated by some sources at USD120 Billion over the 8 years of the Ahmadinejad presidency). Not at the cost of an irreversible national disintegration and Iran’s territory,ressources and even people becoming available to the highest foreign bidder, of course. And certainly not through some sort of “hunamitarian” Alpha Strike …needless to say either. Iran needs a true nationalist governmeent caring both for its state integrity AND at least some minimal level of rights for its own people which they lack currently,and by all standards.

By that standard there are regimes that need to be taken out more urgently: the U.S. and the zioracists, for starters. If those 2 fascist regimes were taken out 1st, the world would be a better place by any measure, and that would give the Iranian people the opportunity to sort out the government.

I find it remarkable that, like those in those 2 fascist regimes, you concentrate on the qualities, or absence thereof, of the Iranian regime instead of highlighting what is at the root of the existence of that regime. The shah was a puppet installed by the U.S. and U.K. to replace a democratically elected government !!! If that coup would not have happened Iran would not be where it is now.

Both of the criminal, genocidal regimes you mentionned need to be taken out as well, I do not see any incompatibilities with my views,these are not mutually exclusive. And I would add GCC satellites to the list as well. Now,a given crime from one of them does never absolve the other for anything , as I have always said. None of the external enemies or surrounding geopolitical picture ever forced the Mullah to steal hundreds of billion of oil money from their own peole and hide it away in Canadian or Chinese banks,nor did it force them to kill thousands of their dissidents even when they merely go out in unarmed protests ever few years. Nothing justifies them imposing clerical rule and compulsory hijab or the many interdicitons pertaining to a normal secular life for the majority of its people, or the fact that they are never offered a choice in that regard in elections where the Mullahs carefully pick the “valid”candidates before voting can even take place , while filtering out anyone going away from their rigid Shiite system.What I find remarkable is that you seem to justify every single of the above shortcoming and abuses solely based on the otherwise absolutely valid condemnation you make of the fake and corrupt puppet regime of the US-installed Shah that also destroyed Iran’s burgeoning parliamentary democracy in 1953. To each and every actor its responsibilities and crimes. I say again,one will never justify the other. All must be held accountable.

I do not justify any abuses that the Iranian regime has perpetrated. Human rights abuses in whichever way perpetrated can never be acceptable.

Nevertheless, the reason I take you to task about your Iran regime change remarks is because there is a lot of that going on and not enough of the same talk about the other 2 regimes. In other words, it’s a question of balance.

Furthermore, there is a higher chance of foreign interference in Iran to engineer regime change, yet again, then there is for a similar regime change in the other 2 countries, or the UK, France, etc.

I am concerned about pouring oil on the anti-Iranian fire that is raging in the West, and even if this forum is only that, a forum with irrelevant people spouting what they believe is their important opinion (I include myself !), it does contribute in ever so slight a way to that oil pouring.

In this case let me clarify (yet again) : I advocate , maybe in a somehow idealistic or naive way, popular revolt against the clerical oppressors that have proven time and again they aren’t worth giving anymore chances to reform from the inside or even waiver the slightest fragment of their most radical internal political policies or structure. If that becomes “regime change” (read “foreign-engineered”) then I will count among the staunchest opponents of that change,since it will be geared towards opportunistic non-Iranian agenda have little to no regard for the Iranian people , or its fate. And the anti-Iran crowd constantly beating the drums of war nowadays and for years now happens to be the exact embodiment of everything I oppose in that regard. As their problem is with an independent and powerful Iranian nation and so no matter the kind of regime sitting at the top. In any case, certainly not with anything related to their growth, empowerment or future. The very same people today betting on people’s short memory were the ones that instigated a monarchist coup d’état against Iran first democratically-elected parliament under the leadership of Dr. Mossadegh, and that historical infamy alone (just like it happened in Chile a few years after with Allende) should suffice to quell any misguided trust let alone hope that anyone foolish, stupid or willingly blind enough coud still harbor regarding these Zionist or neocon criminals so poorly and pathetically trying to fake and pose as some sort of noble democracy-seeking friends of ordinary Iranians suffering so much at this very moment at their hands.

Thank you for that. We’re mostly on the same page. I feel that what has been perpetrated by the AngloZionist empire to the world, and in particular in the Middle East, in the name of bringing “freedom and democracy” (= war crimes and crimes against humanity) far outweighs what the Iranian clergy has done.

Iran has not attacked any of its neighbours for the past 300 years, whereas the U.S. and its Middle Eastern master haven’t stopped since their creation.

If a repressive Iranian regime needs to be taken out, so does a Chinese one, a North Korean one, an “israeli” one, even an American one, among others. I am not trying to justify the Iranian regime, I am merely putting in context against other repressive regimes. Granted, those other repressive regimes are not the topic here.

So, to circle back to the topic: a repressive regime is building its defences for itself and its population against 2 far more repressive regimes that want to take it out. And in that situation I fully support the Iranian regime. Perhaps that is where we’re not on the same page?

We indeed share many positions and rationales in common ;-) thanks for clarifying in turn. When it comes to telling which of the geopolitical sides has more legitimacy to denounce and condemn the other, than indeed in the particular scenario wins hands down on all counts, considering that America already once has murdered its democratic chances in the egg in ’53, and again when it unleashed Baathist dictator Saddam with Chemical-tipped ballistic missile, aka… WMDs, with Rumsfeld warmly shaking hands with what he called himself “their son of a bitch”, before turning their sights on him at the very first occasion a few years later as we all now.

Indeed Iran is merely defending itself by projecting power via proxies and allies to safeguard its geopolitical depth and forward its regional interest s for the better and the worse. Pretty much exactly like any country would do, and actually does in the case of America, settling in bases and heavy arms all around Iran’s doorstep, ringing it with ever more WMDs ready to rip apart its infrastructure at any moment notice.

And with all that happening thousands of miles away from its own shores, acting the same as with the other 1,000 bases sitting in most dictatorships in the world, America and its middle-eastern criminal allies are the last entities in the world with an ounce of legitimacy to attack Iran on basically any ground whatsoever, would it be literally or figuratively, there we’ll agree in full.

Excellent reply, many thanks :-))