“Some of our systems were damaged in this war, but thanks to the efforts of our comrades, the damaged systems were replaced and deployed … We managed to restore air-space coverage, and the enemy failed to achieve its objectives,” Mousavi told domestic media on Saturday.
Israeli warplanes and drones had targeted Iranian radar and missile sites almost immediately after the opening salvos on 13 June, part of a broader campaign that also struck oil facilities and the Defense Ministry compound in Tehran. Israeli officials later claimed Iran’s air defences had been “crippled,” giving the Israeli Air Force near freedom of action. Still, Mousavi insisted that Iranian crews “remained at their stations around the clock and confronted the enemy.”
The clash, which saw the United States join Israel in a single-day strike on three nuclear facilities at Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan on 22 June, ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire that took effect on 24 June.
Nuclear Talks to Resume with EU3
In a parallel diplomatic track, Tehran has agreed in principle to restart negotiations with Britain, France, and Germany on salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal, an informed source told Tasnim News Agency. Details on venue and timing are still being finalised, but the talks could begin as early as next week.
The European initiative attempts to pick up the pieces of Omani-mediated indirect contacts between Iran and the United States that collapsed when Israel launched its June strikes. Observers in Tehran say the renewed EU3 channel may also lower regional temperatures after the most direct fighting ever witnessed between Iran and Israel.
Joint Iranian–Russian Drill Set for Monday
Military cooperation is also shifting northward. The Iranian Navy announced that CASAREX 2025, a three-day search-and-rescue drill with Russian forces, will commence in the Caspian Sea on July 21. Units from Iran’s Army Navy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, the national police coast-guard, and Russia’s Caspian Flotilla will participate, with observers invited from other littoral states. The exercise is billed as a confidence-building measure aimed at “a safe and secure Caspian Sea.” Still, it also underscores growing strategic ties between Tehran and Moscow at a moment when both countries face Western sanctions.
A Two-Track Strategy
Taken together, the developments suggest Tehran is pursuing a twin strategy of hardening its defences while reopening diplomatic channels:
• Replacing damaged SAM sites shores up deterrence at home. • Restarting nuclear talks may ease sanctions pressure and reduce the risk of renewed U.S.–Israeli strikes. • Deepening naval cooperation with Russia signals that Iran still has powerful partners willing to train and exercise in its neighbourhood.
Whether these moves can hold the fragile cease-fire and revive the nuclear deal remains uncertain. For now, Iran appears determined to show both resilience on the battlefield and flexibility at the negotiating table.