WANA (Jun 20) – Mohsen Rezaei, former IRGC commander and current member of Iran’s Expediency Council, described Iran’s recent military operation against Israel as “the first strategic victory of the Islamic Republic over Israel’s military calculations.”

 

Rezaei said: “We are the first nation to disrupt the Zionist regime’s military calculations. In the past, Israel entered wars with calculated precision — in Egypt, Syria, and Jordan — and achieved success. But for the first time, against Iran, those calculations failed.”

 

He claimed that “over 400 missiles and 600 drones were launched at military targets in the occupied territories”, resulting — according to him — in “50 Israeli soldiers killed and more than 2,000 wounded.” Rezaei added: “Iranian missiles penetrated all four layers of the Iron Dome and struck their intended targets.”

Trace of an Irainan missile is seen in the sky in Tehran, Iran, June 18, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)

He continued: “On the first day, the enemy shocked us — but Iran’s response was a storm ten times greater than the Al-Aqsa Storm. This is only the beginning. We’ve used just 30 percent of our capabilities.”

 

Referring to Iran’s unused capacities — including ground and naval forces, oil leverage, the Strait of Hormuz, and regional alliances — Rezaei noted: “Some countries even volunteered to join the operation, but we have not yet entered that phase.”

 

Rezaei warned that “any ceasefire at this stage would only give the enemy a chance to recover,” emphasizing: “We will continue this war until the future of our country is secured.”

According to Rezaei, “All of Iran’s enriched materials have been moved to secure locations,” and the Islamic Republic “will emerge from this war in a stronger position.”

 

In a message to the Israeli public, he added:

“We urge civilians to evacuate the occupied territories as soon as possible — the waves of Iranian attacks will escalate in phases.”