Video: Iranian Army Chief inspects wreckage of downed drones, missiles, warns aggressors face heavier losses
Abdullateef Fowewe
Major General Amir Hatami, commander-in-chief of Iran’s Army, visited an exhibition of wreckage on Thursday that Iranian officials described as drones and missiles intercepted by the country’s air defence systems.
He used the occasion to declare that any new attack on Iran would result in greater losses for the enemy.
Hatami said the Army’s air defence force has developed new capabilities and stressed that the adversary is “vulnerable” despite efforts to project invincibility through psychological operations.
Large drones, missiles, and other equipment displayed at the exhibition, he noted, demonstrate part of the air defence force’s achievements.
Video footage released by Iranian media shows Hatami and other officers examining debris laid out on tables, including components associated with systems such as the Israeli Hermes 900 UAV.
Iranian state media framed the display as evidence of successful intercepts of American and other “enemy” aerial assets.
Separate recent exhibitions by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have also featured what officials called captured or downed U.S. and Israeli unmanned aircraft alongside domestically produced missiles and drones.
The exhibition comes amid prolonged military tensions between Iran, the United States, and Israel that intensified in 2026.
Hostilities escalated after a temporary memorandum of understanding aimed at de-escalation expired earlier in the year, with both sides exchanging strikes involving missiles, drones, and air defences.
Iranian officials have repeatedly claimed high numbers of intercepted hostile aircraft and drones—figures that remain unverified by independent sources—and have highlighted efforts to move production underground and enhance air defence systems.
U.S. and Israeli officials have described their operations as targeting Iranian military capabilities, while Tehran has portrayed its responses and recoveries of wreckage as proof of resilience.
The visit and accompanying statements appear intended both to showcase claimed defensive successes and to deter further attacks at a time of ongoing regional volatility.
