Israel delivers the first operational laser air-defense system in history
According to defense officials, the system has already proven itself in an extensive series of trials, successfully intercepting multiple types of aerial threats under realistic operational conditions.
Israel has formally presented and delivered the first Iron Beam high-energy laser interception system to the IDF today, bringing laser air defense from experimentation into operational reality, the Ministry of Defence has announced.
The handover ceremony took place at the headquarters of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in northern Israel.
The Iron Beam was produced following years of development led by the Israeli Ministry of Defence’s R&D directorate in partnership with Elbit Systems and other defense industries, including SCD and Shafir Systems.
Designed to intercept rockets, mortars, and unmanned aerial vehicles at short ranges, Iron Beam will be integrated into the Israeli Air Force as an additional layer of defense alongside Israel’s existing systems: Iron Dome, David’s Sling, and Arrow.
According to defense officials, the system has already proven itself in an extensive series of trials, successfully intercepting multiple types of aerial threats under realistic operational conditions.
What sets Iron Beam apart, however, is its combination of a powerful laser source with advanced electro-optical tracking and adaptive optics.
This, according to the MoD, enables high-precision engagements at negligible marginal cost, about the price of electricity instead of thousands of dollars per launch, dramatically improving the cost-effectiveness balance against mass rocket and drone attacks.
Defense Minister Israel Katz described today’s delivery as a ‘historic milestone,’ stating that, for the first time anywhere, a high-power laser system has reached full operational maturity.
He also said that Iron Beam ‘fundamentally alters the threat calculus’ and sends a clear strategic message to Israel’s adversaries that any attempt to overwhelm its defenses will come at a high cost.
GOG AND MAGOG UPDATE
Magog / Iranian President: We are in ‘full-scale war’ with US, Israel, Europe
Iran’s president declares Tehran is already at war with the US, Israel, and Europe, comparing it to the devastating years-long war with Iraq.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared over the weekend that Tehran is in a state of total war against Israel, the United States, and Europe, comparing the situation to the devastating war between Iran and Iraq during the 1980s.
On Saturday, the official website of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei published an interview with President Pezeshkian in which the Iranian head of state accused not only Israel but the US and Europe of seeking to destroy Iranian independence.
“In my view, we are in a full-scale war with the United States, Israel, and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its own feet,” Pezeshkian said.
Pezeshkian said the threat facing Iran from Israel, the US, and Europe is “worse” than the Iran-Iraq war, a conflict which lasted nearly eight years and left hundreds of thousands of Iranians dead.
“If one understands it properly, this war is far more complex and more difficult than that war.”
“In the war with Iraq, the situation was clear; they fired missiles, and it was clear where we would strike back. But here, they are now besieging us in every respect, putting us under pressure and in tight corners, creating problems—economically, culturally, politically, and in terms of security.”
The president emphasized, however, that Iran is now “stronger” than ever before, and well-positioned to confront the West.
“Despite all the problems we face, we are now, in terms of both equipment and personnel, far stronger than we were during their previous attacks,” Pezeshkian continued.
“Therefore, if they choose to strike, they will then naturally face a more decisive response.”
The interview was published on the eve of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s trip to the United States, during which he is slated to meet with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Gog / Russia sends 3 Magog / Iranian satellites into orbit, report says
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Russia on Sunday sent three Iranian communications satellites into orbit, the second such launch since July, Iranian state television reported.
Russia on Sunday sent three Iranian communications satellites into orbit, the second such launch since July, Iranian state television reported.
The report said that a Russian rocket sent the satellites to circle the Earth on a 500-kilometer (310-mile) orbit from the Vostochny launchpad in eastern Russia. The three satellites are dubbed Paya, Kowsar and Zafar-2.
The report said that Paya, weighing 150 kilograms (330 pounds), is the heaviest satellite that Iran has ever deployed into orbit. Kowsar weighs 35 kilograms (77 pounds), but the report didn’t specify how heavy Zafar-2 is.
The satellites feature up to 3-meter resolution images, applicable in the management of water resources, agriculture and the environment. Their life span is up to five years.
Russia occasionally sends Iran’s satellites into orbit, highlighting the strong ties between the two countries. In July, a Russian rocket sent Iranian communications satellite Nahid-2 into orbit.
Russia, which signed a “strategic partnership” treaty with Iran in January, strongly condemned the Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran that came during a 12-day air war in June and killed nearly 1,100 Iranians, including military commanders and nuclear scientists. Retaliatory missile barrages by Iran killed 28 people in Israel.
As a long-standing project, Iran from time-to-time launches satellite carriers to send its satellites into space.
The United States has said that Iran’s satellite launches defy a U.N. Security Council resolution and called on Tehran to undertake no activity involving ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. U.N. sanctions related to Iran’s ballistic missile program expired in 2023.
Magog / Iran arming ballistic missiles with biological, chemical weapons
Iran is developing warheads capable of delivering chemical and biological weapons via ballistic missiles, according to a report over the weekend.
On Sunday, the UK-based, Saudi-owned Iran International published a report citing multiple unnamed military sources who claimed that the Aerospace Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is pursuing the development of special warheads for its ballistic missile arsenal capable of carrying unconventional weapons, including biological and chemical weapons.
The move comes as Iran works to rebuild both its stock of ballistic missiles, which was depleted during the 12-day June war with Israel, and to expand the number of operational ballistic missile launchers it has capable of launching medium and long-range projectiles.
According to the report, the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Aerospace Force has accelerated its work on unconventional missile warheads in the past few months.
One source cited in the report said Iran is pursuing deployment methods for chemical and biological weapons to create a “complementary deterrent factor,” alongside the country’s conventional ballistic missile arsenal.
The bid to arm Iran’s ballistic missile force with biological and chemical weapons is a sign of desperation among Iranian leaders over the possibility of a new Israeli-led air campaign.
“The Iranian leadership views potential Israeli and American attacks as a threat to its very existence and intends, in the event of a conflict, to significantly raise the cost for the opposing side,” one source said.
“The use of unconventional weapons can be justified in situations of existential threat.”
The report comes amid rising popular dissent in Iran as the country faces a devastating drought and deepening economic woes.
At the same time, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to use his meeting with President Donald Trump on Monday to present options for a new air campaign against Iran targeting the country’s ballistic missile program.