The Israel Defense Forces assessed on Saturday that it would finish targeting nearly all of Iran’s key military industry sites in the coming days, as the war hit its one-month anniversary, and Vice President JD Vance suggested that Washington would soon begin winding down its fight against the Islamic Republic.
The remarks came against the backdrop of heavy airstrikes over Iran, which the IDF said had targeted, among other things, the headquarters of the regime’s Marine Industries Organization, tasked with the production of naval weapons and vessels.
IDF spokesman Effie Defrin said at a press conference on Saturday evening that “within a few days” the military would finish targeting all of the “critical” assets of Iran’s military production industries.
“This means we will destroy most of the military production capabilities, and it will take the regime a long time to restore them,” he said.
Iran’s defense industry is extensive, with numerous military bodies and private companies manufacturing weapon systems — or components — including ballistic missiles, air defenses, naval weapons, cyber capabilities, and even spy satellites.
The Israeli Air Force has so far targeted thousands of assets of Iran’s military industry amid the war, or around 70%, and the IDF assesses that it is now close to having targeted around 90% of the key sites used to develop weapons that threaten Israel.
‘A little while longer’
Like Defrin, Vance suggested in remarks published Saturday that Washington was close to completing the goals it set out for the joint offensive on Iran.
The vice president addressed the war in a conversation with conservative political commentator Benny Johnson on his podcast, “The Benny Show.”
The war, he said, would continue for “A little while longer,” with the goal being to “neuter” the Islamic “for a very, very long time.”
He said the US had “accomplished the vast majority of our military projects,” and claimed that one could even argue the objectives had actually already been met.
“The president’s going to keep at it for a little while longer to ensure that once we leave, we don’t have to do this again for a very, very long time,” Vance said, in a rare acknowledgement that the military gains made by the US will not be permanent.
“This country is threatening us in all these ways. They’re still trying to build a nuclear weapon. We ned to neuter them for a very, very long time, and that’s the purpose,” he added.
Asked by Johnson about the rising gas prices due to the war, Vance acknowledged the issue, but called it a “very temporary reaction to what is going to ultimately be a short-term conflict.”
“We’re not interested in being in Iran a year down the road or two years down the road. We’re taking care of business. We’re going to be out of there soon, and gas prices are going to come back down,” he stressed.
Another blow to Iran’s naval capabilities
As the war entered its second month on Saturday, the IDF said that the Air Force had targeted the headquarters of Iran’s Marine Industries Organization overnight.
It said the MIO headquarters, located in Tehran, were responsible for “research, development, and production of a wide range of naval weaponry, including surface and sub-surface vessels, manned and unmanned equipment, as well as engines and weapons.”
The strike was carried out following intelligence provided by the Naval Intelligence Division, the military said, adding that it “deepens the damage to the Iranian terror regime’s naval capabilities, with a particular impact on its ability to produce advanced maritime weapons.”
The IDF said it also struck other sites used by Iran to develop weapons and air defense systems during the wave of strikes.
It was the latest blow to Iran’s naval operations, after the IDF announced on Thursday that the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Adm. Alireza Tangsiri, had been killed in an airstrike.
Later on Saturday, the IDF said it had completed another “extensive” wave of strikes in Tehran, targeting dozens of Iranian regime infrastructure sites.
It said further details on the targets would be provided at a later point.
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