Key Points

Mousavi issued a message marking the anniversary of the start of the Iraqi imposed war on Iran in the 1980s. He also cited Israel's "failure" during the 12-day conflict in June this year.

"He stressed that Iran’s homegrown military and defence capabilities, its regional capacities, and the decisive response of the Iranian Armed Forces thwarted hostile plots. He emphasised that the Islamic Republic will never remain passive in the face of threats, turning every challenge into an opportunity to demonstrate national, regional, and international power," Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported on Monday.

"The senior commander urged that advancing modern defence technologies, strengthening deterrent power, and preparing to counter hybrid warfare – particularly the enemy’s cognitive war – must remain central priorities," the report added.

Mousavi assured Iranians that the country's armed forces, relying on strategic surprises, stand fully prepared to confront any threat from "oppressive powers" with a response that will be "timely, decisive, regret-inducing, and beyond imagination".

Mousavi was appointed as the new Chief Commander of the army and the Aerospace Division of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) by the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei after Israel launched airstrikes on the Iranian capital Tehran and other cities across the country in June earlier this year.

His appointment came following the assassination of his predecessor, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, during the Israeli airstrikes.

Besides Bagheri, IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami, Commander of Iran's Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, and six Iranian nuclear scientists were also killed in the strikes.

- IANS