Tehran

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday said its aerospace forces launched the 21st wave of Operation True Promise, deploying swarms of suicide drones and advanced Khayber missiles equipped with cluster warheads to overwhelm the Israel Defense Forces air defence systems.

The IRGC said the coordinated assault, codenamed “Ya Mu'izz al-Mu'minin,” aimed to saturate and bypass Israel’s multi-layered air defence network.

Iran warned that its retaliatory campaign would intensify in the coming days. Military officials said Iranian air defence systems continue to intercept Israeli and US aircraft and drones operating across the country.

Ibrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, told Press TV that Israeli forces had attempted to conceal military resources in civilian areas but Iranian forces were continuing to identify and target them.

“The cowardly military forces and facilities of the Zionist regime have hidden in civilian and public layers,” Zolfaghari said, adding that attacks would become “more intense and widespread” in the coming days.

He also said Iranian air defences had intercepted and destroyed advanced enemy aircraft in several regions. According to him, Iranian forces have shot down more than 75 enemy drones since what Tehran described as US-Israeli aggression began last Saturday.

Meanwhile, speaking on the sidelines of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh said Tehran had “no option” but to engage in what he called a “heroic nationalist defence” against the United States and Israel.

“We are under attack, under invasion by Americans and Israelis,” he said, adding that Iran would resist “to the last bullet” and “last soldier.”

Khatibzadeh also warned that US actions, including what he alleged was the assassination of a head of state, could undermine global diplomatic norms.

“If it becomes the new norm, then no country on earth can have normal diplomatic relations with others,” he said.

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According to The Times of Israel, the Israeli military is preparing for at least one to two more weeks of operations targeting Iranian military and regime facilities as the conflict entered its sixth day on Friday, with both sides continuing strikes and counter-strikes.