As Iran works to restore air defenses, MK Liberman warns Islamic Republic 'obsessed with war of revenge’

Iran has replaced “damaged” air defense systems destroyed during the 12-day Israel-Iran war, a top Iranian military official said on Sunday. 

In a report published in Iran’s Defa Press, Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, Deputy Chief of Iran's Army, claimed to have replaced systems struck by Israel in the opening hours of the conflict. 

“In this imposed war, the first actions of the Zionist enemy were against the country’s radar and defense systems, and our comrades in the Air Defense Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army were at the systems day and night and confronted the enemy,” Mousavi told the Iranian agency. 

“The Zionist enemy sought to destroy Iran’s defense capabilities, and some of our defense systems were damaged in this war; But with the efforts of my comrades, the damaged systems were replaced and deployed in predetermined locations,” he continued. 

Mousavi claimed that the replacement of “the damaged systems” came even during the war, and that as a result of this, Israel was unable to achieve its goals. 

“We were able to cover the country's airspace and ensure the security of dear Iran's airspace by utilizing the existing systems and replacing them with new ones; therefore, the enemy was unable to achieve its goals despite its desperate efforts,” Mousavi stated, saying that Israel was only able to succeed in its achievements due to support from “the United States and NATO.” 

According to various reports in international media, Iran has begun purchasing Chinese-made weapons systems to replace the ones destroyed by Israel, which were a combination of older U.S.-made systems, Russian systems, and some locally produced systems. 

Meanwhile, on Saturday evening, MK Avigdor Liberman, a former defense minister and head of the right-wing opposition party Yisrael Beitenu, said that Iran is preparing for a war of revenge against Israel. 

Asked about his opinion on the damage to Iran’s nuclear facilities, Liberman said he trusts the statements of the Israeli intelligence and security officials, saying that what disturbs him is the Iranian regime’s plans for a “war of revenge.” 

“But something is more disturbing, Iran is currently breathing, talking, acting solely for a government of revenge, for a war of revenge, that's the only thing they're interested in, revenge,” Liberman said during an interview with Channel 12 News on Saturday evening. 

Asked if he thinks that means Israel will have to fight “another round”, Liberman responded in the affirmative. 

“Unfortunately, we will see another round in two years, and we should be ahead of the curve,” he stated, "because the Iranians are explicitly saying that this time they want to take the lead, and these are not theoretical threats. They have started to restore the nuclear program, they have ordered a dense air defense system from the Chinese, including new aircraft from the Chinese.”  

Asked whether he believes Israel should strike again, Liberman pointed to the threat posed by Iran’s ballistic missile program – an issue that, despite Israel’s requests, does not appear to be on the agenda for the upcoming nuclear talks between Iran and the E3 nations, expected as early as next week.

“The main thing that worries me is the ballistic missiles,” Liberman responded. 

“They are active,” he continued. “They are also conducting negotiations with North Korea; you saw what happened here, 26 ballistic missiles that hit the Israeli home front, what damage this caused.” 

“Besides the nuclear sites, the threat of ballistic missiles is an intolerable threat,” Liberman argued. “They are talking right now about over 20,000 ballistic missiles. Imagine, instead of 26 missiles [which hit Israel during the 12-day war], 260 missiles hitting the Israeli home front. What would that do?” 

Asked if he would order a strike if he were the prime minister, Liberman responded, “I hope that’s what they are preparing.” 

The former Netanyahu coalition partner also stated that he would "order the Mossad to work toward one goal: regime change in Iran."