TEHRAN -- The commander of Iran’s Quds Force says the U.S. and Israel, with all their hype and hoopla, are “powerless in practice” against Iran and resistance groups. 
“They cannot even comprehend why our missiles accurately hit their targets. This is our strength,” Brigadier General Esmail Qa’ani said on Thursday. 
Last year, Iran hit military and intelligence targets inside the Israeli occupied territories with missile salvos in April and October. Iranian officials have underscored that the country only deployed a fraction of its firepower during the dual reprisal.
While Western military experts have also warned that future attacks could be still more complex and use an even greater number of missiles, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) last week unveiled a new underground missile “megacity”.
It was unveiled after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with bombing if it doesn’t submit to American demands. Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Muhammad Bagheri said the pace at which the Islamic Republic is developing its defensive might is far faster than the pace of the enemies’ recuperation.
Gen. Qa’ani on Thursday emphasized the importance of self-sufficiency and domestic production.
He gave special plaudits to the resistance groups in the region “for having resisted with the least resources against the enemy’s advanced equipment”.
“As we saw in Lebanon and Yemen, the resistance has dealt the greatest blows to the enemy with the least resources,” he said. 
Qa’ani highlighted the unique characteristics of the Resistance Front, saying “the essence of resistance is that anyone who fights it only makes it stronger.”
“Yemeni youths who could not even reach the Zionist regime with their weapons at the beginning of the war have increased the range of their missiles by 600 to 700 kilometers in a single year,” he said.  
“This kind of progress is unprecedented anywhere in the world,” General Qa’ani said, adding “the resources available to the Resistance Front today are the result of domestic efforts and innovations”.
According to Ahmed Nagi, a senior analyst on Yemen at the International Crisis Group, the U.S. is wrong to believe that airstrikes can compel Yemenis to back down. 
“Their logic is shaped by years of war; they see resilience as a form of strength and are driven to prove they are not easily deterred,” CNN quoted him as saying.
If anything, they may actually be relishing U.S. strikes, the broadcaster said. Their operations are a “direct answer to their prayers to have a war with the U.S.,” Farea al-Muslimi, a Yemeni research fellow at Chatham House, told CNN.
Since mid-March, Yemeni forces have launched a dozen ballistic missiles at Israel, and barrages of drones and missiles at U.S. navy ships in solidarity with the Palestinians who are subject to daily massacres and other atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank.  
Addressing the enemies, Gen. Qa’ani said, “Your crimes will never be forgotten.”
“Killing women and children and destroying the homes of defenseless people is neither a display of skill nor strength; it is a sign of your weakness and helplessness.”
Qa’ani said the blockaded Gaza Strip still stands firm despite an extensive war for a year and a half, noting that such firm resistance “reflects the resolute will of its people.” 
Separately on Thursday, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy Rear Admiral Shahram Irani described the country’s maritime power and defense capabilities as stronger than ever before.
“Today, our enemies view the armed forces of the Navy as a superpower,” he said in Bandar Abbas during a meeting with the families of the personnel of the 86th Naval Group which traveled the world for 236 days between September 2022 and May 2023. 
Irani attributed the success of the mission to a combination of the personnel’s expertise and the patience and endurance of the families of the comrades, emphasizing that families play a crucial role in boosting the morale of the personnel during long-term international missions.
Irani said the international community views Iran’s Navy on par with the naval forces of a superpower.
“The efforts of my comrades have become evident to everyone in the country, the region, and the world, bringing honor and pride to our dear Iran,” he said.