Iran’s Defence Chief Vows War Readiness and Underground Arms Factories as New Fighter Jet Touted
Iran’s new defence minister says the country is “ready for war with the Zionists” and is moving weapons production into mountain facilities, while claiming an entirely domestic heavy fighter jet will fly next year. The twin messages hint at a push to harden Iran’s military posture as confrontation with Israel and Western powers deepens.
Iran’s new defence minister is setting out a posture designed to look both more threatening and harder to hit. In public comments carried on 18 October, he declared that Iran’s “finger is on the trigger” and that the country is “ready for war with the Zionists,” using Tehran’s standard term for Israel. At the same time, he described a shift in how and where Iran builds its weapons, saying new factories are being constructed “inside mountains and in secure facilities” rather than at existing above‑ground locations.
In parallel, the minister claimed that a new “heavy” fighter jet produced entirely in Iran will take to the skies as early as next year. He described the aircraft as fully domestically manufactured. A similar message was relayed in a separate report saying the advanced, wholly indigenous fighter would fly next year, while noting that past Iranian projects, such as the Qaher‑313 stealth fighter, had not progressed beyond convincing mock‑ups.
For Israelis and others in the region, the rhetoric about being ready for war is not merely rhetorical noise. It signals that Tehran wants to convey a willingness to escalate if it believes its territory, nuclear sites or allied militias are under threat. Iranian planners have watched years of strikes attributed to Israel against targets in Syria and Lebanon and cyber operations that hit Iranian infrastructure. Underground arms factories embedded in mountains are a clear response to that experience: an attempt to keep key production lines running even under sustained air attack.
Moving factories into hardened facilities has a direct operational impact. It makes it more difficult for Israeli, U.S. or Gulf air forces to destroy missile, drone and ammunition stocks before they can be launched. It also complicates intelligence work, as buried sites tucked into mountain ranges are easier to conceal and protect. For the crews of any aircraft ordered to strike such facilities, the mission profile becomes riskier, with more advanced bunker‑busting munitions required and tighter margins for error.
The heavy fighter claim, while viewed with skepticism by many observers, still matters. Even if the jet that eventually flies falls short of Iran’s public promise, the effort reflects a long‑term project to reduce dependence on aging U.S. and Soviet‑era aircraft and on foreign suppliers constrained by sanctions. A domestically built airframe that can carry modern sensors and Iranian‑designed munitions would give Tehran more confidence to project power over the Gulf or escort strike packages headed west.
Strategically, the messaging from Iran’s defence establishment dovetails with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s calibrated diplomacy over the Strait of Hormuz. On one hand, Tehran is presenting a detailed seven‑day plan that would see the vital oil chokepoint fully reopened if the U.S. accepts conditions Iran describes as “fair” and based on previous American commitments. On the other, senior officials talk openly about war readiness and hardened underground factories.
That mix is not accidental. It signals that Iran wants leverage on multiple fronts: the ability to squeeze a global maritime artery, threaten Israel and reassure domestic audiences that, despite sanctions and past embarrassments like the Qaher‑313, the country’s military‑industrial base is maturing. For Israel and Gulf states, it forces a reassessment of strike options and the credibility of Iran’s air and missile forces.
The most telling indicators in the coming months will be concrete rather than rhetorical: satellite evidence of new underground complexes, flight tests of the touted heavy fighter with verifiable performance, and any Israeli or U.S. statements that acknowledge shifts in Iran’s survivability. Those developments will show whether Tehran’s current claims are bluster, bargaining chips, or the surface of a deeper structural change in the regional balance.
Sources
- OSINT