Iran has fixed Israeli damage to air defenses, military commander says

Iran has repaired damage to its air defenses from an Oct. 26 Israeli attack, a senior military official said on Wednesday, adding that Tehran would punish Israel and any power helping it strike Iran.

The remarks were the first official confirmation that the Israeli air attacks had damaged Iran's air defense systems but emphasized a hawkish stance which appeared to allude to US assistance to a future Israeli raid.

"The air defense of Islamic Iran is at the height of readiness, and the minor damage inflicted on it has been completely repaired," Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran's armed forces was quoted by state media as saying.

His remarks were the third time in as many days that a top Iranian military official rebutted US and Israeli assertions that Iran was weakened by the bombardment and come after US media reported that Israel is mulling striking Iranian nuclear sites.

"The air defense of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic is at peak readiness for offensive operations, and missile production is continuously being carried out with very high quantity and quality," Bagheri added.

The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post reported last week citing US intelligence findings from last month that Israel saw an opening for an attack on Iranian nuclear sites as early as the first half of this year.

Visiting the White House this month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israeli strikes had "crippled Iran's air defenses." Trump the next day said any reports of a devastating US-Israeli attack on Iran were "greatly exaggerated".

Israel is basing its assessment, the papers reported, on Iran's weakness after an Oct. 26 Israeli attack knocked out much of its air defenses and a greater perceived receptiveness to military action from US President Donald Trump.

"If the enemy makes any mistake, Israel’s security—and that of those involved in equipping and planning its operations—will be at risk, and the region will not see peace," Bagheri added.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Iran could fend off an attack by its enemies, after rejecting an overture from Trump for a deal over Iran's nuclear program, which Tehran says is peaceful but Israel insists aims at building a bomb.