On April 26, TASS news agency quoted a senior Russian MP as saying that Iran may be possessing a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles, and has been preparing for a long time for an armed conflict scenario with the US.
Mr. Alexey Pushkov, Chairman of the Information Policy Committee of the Russian Federation Council, said that Tehran has prepared relatively comprehensively in many aspects.
According to him, most of Iran's missile facilities have been moved to underground works, making detection and attack significantly more difficult. In addition, these systems are also scattered in many different areas, in order to limit the risk of being neutralized simultaneously in the event of large-scale attacks.
“Iran has prepared very carefully. They seem to possess tens of thousands of UAVs, along with missile capabilities developed over a long period of time, not only militarily but also economically and to a extent that can be considered vital,” Pushkov said.
According to the senator, from Tehran's perspective, any confrontation with Washington is linked to the vital factor. Iran is likely to pursue the conflict to the end if placed in a direct confrontation situation. This assessment reflects the approach that Russia believes Iran can apply in the event of escalating tensions.
In the opposite direction, Mr. Pushkov assessed that for the US, this is not a vital conflict. From this perspective, Washington has more strategic options and is not under survival pressure similar to Iran in the same conflict scenario.
In addition, he also mentioned that within the US, there have been criticisms related to the administration's approach to foreign affairs issues. Some views mention the role of US President Donald Trump in previous policies, saying that policy choices may have contributed to shaping the current situation.
The above assessments are made in the context that the Middle East continues to be a region with many potential security risks, with tensions between Iran and the US developing complicatedly in stages.
