Iran Army Adds 1,000 New Drones, Vows 'Crushing Response' To Any Invasion

2026-01-29 02:26:26

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Iran's army on Thursday added 1,000 drones to its combat regiments as its chief vowed a "crushing response" to any attack, state television reported, after the United States moved a strike force into regional waters.

"In accordance with the threats we are facing, maintaining and enhancing strategic advantages for rapid combat and a crushing response to any invasion... is always on the army's agenda," Iran's army commander Amir Hatami said, cited by state television.

Recommended For You

Defiant Iran

Iran's foreign minister warned Wednesday its forces would respond immediately and forcefully to any US military operation after President Donald Trump declared time was running out to avoid one, but did not rule out a new deal on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.

The Islamic republic's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi warned its forces have their "fingers on the trigger" to "powerfully respond" to any US strikes, but also used language strikingly similar to Trump's to describe a possible agreement to defuse the stand-off through a new nuclear deal.

"Iran has always welcomed a mutually beneficial, fair and equitable NUCLEAR DEAL -- on equal footing, and free from coercion, threats, and intimidation -- which ensures Iran's rights to PEACEFUL nuclear technology, and guarantees NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS," Araghchi posted on X.

"Such weapons have no place in our security calculations and we have NEVER sought to acquire them," he added, restating Tehran's long-standing insistence -- dismissed by sceptical Western capitals -- that its nuclear programme is focused only on research and civilian energy development.

Earlier, before Trump's latest declaration, Araghchi had said "conducting diplomacy through military threat cannot be effective or useful".

But if some saw his shift in tone as an opening, Ali Shamkani, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, posted more stark language warning of conflict and strikes on US ally Israel.

"A limited strike is an illusion," he posted on X.

"Any military action, from America from any origin and at any level, will be considered the start of war, and its response will be immediate, all-out and unprecedented, targeting the heart of Tel Aviv and all supporters of the aggressor."

Hours earlier, Trump had warned that a "massive armada" of US naval vessels was heading to waters off Iran and ready "to rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary".