Iran’s military doctrine has been gradually moving from “defensive to an offensive” approach, Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Mohammad Akraminia said on Saturday, attributing the change to lessons learned from the country’s recent conflicts, according to Turkey-based Anadolu news agency.
Speaking to state news agency IRNA, Akraminia said the transition had taken shape during what he referred to as the 12-day and 40-day wars.
“Our country’s military doctrine was defensive in the past, but gradually during these two wars, we witnessed the military doctrine moving from a defensive posture toward an offensive one,” Akraminia stated.
Iran army’s reward plan, buying weapons for double their market value and more
Akraminia clarified that moving to an offensive military doctrine does not automatically involve launching preemptive attacks. However, he said Iran had used such a strategy during the war when it targeted a in Jordan before Washington officially joined the conflict.
He claimed the strike caused “serious damage” to American equipment, infrastructure and personnel.
According to Akraminia, the doctrine also calls for an immediate response to any attack, with potentially mounting a counterattack that is wider in scope than the original strike, adding that Iran’s move towards an offensive military doctrine was reflected in the recent wars through quicker and wider responses to attacks, along with preemptive strikes.
He also stated the army had prepared a plan to reward those who kill or capture if American forces launch a ground incursion into Iran.
Under the proposed scheme, Iranian military personnel and civilians legally licensed to own hunting weapons would be eligible for a 5-billion-toman reward, roughly $26,000, for killing or capturing US troops entering Iran. The payout would rise to 10 billion tomans, or about $53,000, if a woman carried out the act.
The army would also buy the weapon used in the operation for twice its market value, place it in a military museum bearing the owner’s name and give the person a replacement weapon, Akraminia noted.
Akraminia said the merger of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters with the General Staff of the Armed Forces was intended to streamline Iran’s military structure, strengthen coordination and enable quicker decisions and responses to emerging threats.
He also said Tehran was using legal and diplomatic channels to seek clarification from Qatar over the fate of three Iranian Air Force Su-24 pilots who remain unaccounted for.
According to Akraminia, Brig. Gen. Majid Kazemi, one of four pilots involved in the attack on a US base in Qatar, was killed and his remains were later buried in Shiraz. The whereabouts of the other three pilots remain unknown.
He said Iran’s Foreign Ministry and army were raising the matter with Qatari and international authorities, while calling on Doha to clarify the pilots’ status in line with international conventions.
Akraminia also claimed that US influence in the region had weakened significantly, citing the newly established defence and security pact between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan as an example of regional cooperation without Washington’s involvement.
He said the pact’s eventual effectiveness remained to be seen but mentioned that its formation reflected what he described as Washington’s waning regional influence. He also called it the first regional defence and security arrangement formed without US participation.
As the conflict approached its six-month mark, the US and Iran had stopped exchanging fire but had yet to resume peace negotiations. As per Reuters, Oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had nearly come to a standstill, with Tehran maintaining pressure by threatening to attack unauthorised tankers attempting to pass through the strategic waterway.
