Cartoon by Yasser Ahmed

IRGC generals admit Iran cannot respond to Israel at this time

Iran International: Two senior IRGC commanders acknowledged this week that the Islamic Republic is currently unable to retaliate against Israel's October airstrikes, which reportedly inflicted significant damage on Iran's air defense system.

Iranian political and military officials have repeatedly threatened to launch a large-scale retaliation against Israel, referring to the operation as “True Promise 3.” The codename follows two missile and drone strikes carried out against Israel in 2024 under the same series.

One IRGC general, who until recently was stationed in Syria, told Iranian media that such an operation should have been launched earlier, and now Iran is not in a position to ignite a large-scale conflict with Israel.

General Behrouz Esbati, currently heading the Iranian armed forces Cyberspace Headquarters, spoke to the conservative Tabnak news website, stating, "I do not know why the operation was not launched or who decided against responding to Israel. However, as someone who was on the ground in Syria, I can say that we would be in a much better position today if Iran had retaliated against Israel's attack."

Esbati further remarked, "I believe the current situation makes it impossible to carry out Operation True Promise-3. Under the present circumstances, it is not in the interest of the Resistance to drag the region into a war. If we initiate a new operation, the enemy will respond with renewed attacks."

When asked why Iranian forces did not target US troops in Syria, Esbati explained, "Imagine we hit them with a single missile—what then? Our conventional missiles cannot penetrate concrete, and we will not deploy our strategic missiles for such an operation."

Addressing the reasons behind Assad's fall, Esbati remarked, "Assad lacked the motivation to fight. Despite Khamenei’s assurance that Iran would support him if he resisted, Assad was unwilling to engage in battle." He also criticized Assad's military leadership, stating, "His army commanders were corrupt and accepted bribes from everyone." Esbati further accused Russia of betrayal, saying, "Russia betrayed both Assad and Iran." He added that "after Iran's first retaliation against Israeli attacks, Russia was aligned with Israel."

The Didban Iran news website in Tehran quoted also General Esmail Kowsari, an IRGC officer and member of the Iranian parliament's National Security Committee, as saying, "The Islamic Republic's hands are tied; otherwise, we would have responded to Israel and carried out Operation True Promise-3."

Highlighting the United States' $921 billion military budget, Kowsari remarked, "If we were in a better financial position, we would have launched Operation True Promise-3 and even Operation 4."

Meanwhile, Etemad newspaper cited Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who stated, "Iran must learn a lesson from Assad's fall in Syria." He added, "The Syrian army was defeated before it even considered fighting or resisting." The foreign minister warned, "Syria's defeat should serve as a lesson for us, and we must not allow the enemies to spread despair within Iran."