Iran is among six countries that have achieved long-range surface-to-air missile production capabilities, the Commander of Air Defense Force in northwestern Iran, Brigadier General Abbas Azimi said.

Azimi pointed to the fast-paced proliferation of Iran's homegrown air defense capabilities, which did not exist prior to the Islamic Revolution in 1979. The Brigadier General explained that procuring Iran's air defense equipment and systems depended solely on imports before the Islamic Revolution. 

In stark contrast, the country's scientists and specialists now develop and produce radars that can operate in a 300-km radius, Azimi added. 

The Iranian commander also noted that the country's air defense force is always on full-time alert regardless of the conditions of war or peace.

Being surrounded by Turkey, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iraq, and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic has made the monitoring of the areas by the northwestern force of utmost importance, due to the presence of extra-regional air bases in these countries, 

Read more: Iran's 3rd Khordad air defense system: A proven threat to US aircraft

Meanwhile, Commander of the Iranian Army’s Air Defense Force Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi-Fard said that the powerful air defense force of the Iranian army is ready to repel and stand against any possible aggression on the country.

On the occasion of Iran Air Defense Day, Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi-Fard, commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Defense Force (IRIADF), and other air defense commanders attended the mausoleum of the late founder of the Islamic Revolution Imam Khomeini (RA) on Sunday morning.

The Khatam al-Anbiya Air Defense Headquarters (PADAJA) was founded in 1992, and its headquarters experienced a reorganization and enhancement on September 1, 2008. This restructuring was initiated by an order from the commander-in-chief of the Iranian Armed Forces, Sayyed Ali Khamenei, with the aim of protecting Iran's airspace from aerial threats.

This date has since been designated as Air Defense Day.

Today, the powerful Iranian air defense force has all its equipment made by Iranian specialists domestically and is ahead of the most advanced and up-to-date defense in the world, Sabahi-Fard told reporters.

The Iranian defense equipment is built based on the existing threats, he said, adding that the country is “even ahead of these threats and we will use them against the threats.”

Earlier on August 22, Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi-Fard said, "It is an undeniable fact when we say that we are the absolute power of air defense in the region and have a say [in it] in the world."

He underlined that the eight-year war that Iraq inflicted on the nation in the 1980s and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution's directive that the nation must increase its power both aided in the advancement of defense capabilities.

The Iranian Army's Air Defense Force is currently in the best possible shape to defend the nation, Sabahi-Fard reaffirmed.

The general advised enemies against making any miscalculations, warning them that the Iranian Army and Air Defense Force would definitely emerge victorious in any possible confrontation.

Read more: Iran says made breakthrough in defense capabilities