TEHRAN -- Iran’s top military commander said on Saturday that strengthening civil defense across the armed forces is a “vital and definitive necessity” in the face of U.S.-Israeli threats to attack critical Iranian infrastructure.
Chief of Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces and commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters Major General Ali Abdollahi, in a message marking Civil Defense Week, cited lessons from recent U.S.-Israeli “imposed and hybrid wars” against Iran.
Abdollahi said implementing civil defense requirements across all areas of the armed forces, in line with enemy threats and using modern, scientific methods, is imperative. He added that dynamism, creativity and innovation were essential to countering “diverse and emerging” threats.
The commander described civil defense as the art of prevention, vigilance and establishing lasting protection against threats, calling it a “strategic asset” in a security environment characterized by increasingly modern, complex, hybrid and multilayered threats. 
He said it plays an “unparalleled” role in protecting personnel, safeguarding vital infrastructure and assets, ensuring cybersecurity and maintaining operational continuity during wartime and crises.
Abdollahi said the strategic objective is to reduce vulnerabilities, raise the threshold for withstanding attacks, strengthen resilience and ensure the continued functioning of the armed forces’ main components through commitment to passive defense principles. 
He wished the armed forces success in advancing the civil defense program and implementing the guidance of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei.
His message came the same day Ayatollah Khamenei ordered senior military commanders to ensure any level or type of enemy threat is met with an “immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response.”