The site of the Flight PS752 crash near Tehran
Remarks by the interior minister boasting about Iran's advanced radars have irked Iranians, who still demand justice over the downing of a Ukrainian plane.
During a Thursday ceremony to commemorate the occasion of Iran’s Air Defense Day, Ahmad Vahidi -- himself a Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) general -- said the Islamic Republic is among the top countries in the world in terms of its air defense capabilities.
He said Iran is so advanced in radar systems that can detect and destroy all the enemies’ flying objects, and that in the missile sector, the country is again in the top tier in long, medium and short-range missiles, noting that “all these equipment are indigenous and domestically produced."
Similar remarks about the country’s air defense systems were made by the top brass of the military, including Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri, the Army’s Commander-in-Chief Abdolrahim Mousavi, and IRGC’s chief commander Hossein Salami, as well as Ghader Rahimzadeh, the commander of the joint air defenses headquarters of the Army and IRGC.
Salami said some top powers in the world have purchased military and defense equipment from Iran and are now using them.
The remarks came as Russia has faced "numerous failures" with Iranian-made drones acquired from Tehran last month for use in Ukraine, and many people are still irate about the downing of Flight PS752 in 2020.
The airliner was shot down by two air-defense missiles fired by the IRGC as it took off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport. All 176 passengers and crew, including 63 Canadians and 10 from Sweden, as well as 82 Iranian citizens died in the disaster.