Iran has replaced its air defence systems that were damaged during the conflict with Israel last month, according to Defah Press, a news agency affiliated with the country’s defence forces.

Rear Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, the regular army’s deputy for operations, confirmed the update in a statement published on Sunday.

During the air conflict in June, Israel’s air force gained air superiority over Iran, damaging parts of the Iranian air defence infrastructure.

In response, Iranian forces launched waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli positions, and Iran claimed these attacks successfully struck key strategic areas.

Rear Admiral Mousavi said, “The Zionist enemy sought to destroy Iran’s defence capabilities, and some of our defence systems were damaged in this war; But with the efforts of my comrades, the damaged systems were replaced and deployed in predetermined locations.”

He also stated that Israel failed to achieve its goals and accused the United States and NATO of supporting Israel in the conflict.

Iran already had its own long-range air defence system, Bavar-373, along with the Russian-made S-300 system, before the war.

The report did not mention any import of new foreign systems after the recent conflict. Following Israeli attacks on Iranian missile facilities last October, Iran had shown the deployment of Russian systems during military drills to demonstrate it had recovered from the assault.

Possible Nuclear Talks With Europe

In a separate development, Iran may hold nuclear negotiations next week with Britain, France, and Germany, according to Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

These talks would address the country’s nuclear programme after recent warnings by the European nations that a failure to return to talks would result in the reimposition of international sanctions.

Tasnim reported: “The principle of talks has been agreed upon, but consultations are continuing on the time and place of the talks. The country in which the talks could be held next week has not been finalised,” citing an informed source.

This update came days after foreign ministers of the E3 (Britain, France, Germany) and the EU’s foreign policy chief held their first discussion with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Iran’s nuclear sites were targeted by the US and Israel in an earlier military strike.

The E3, along with China and Russia, remain part of the 2015 nuclear agreement which the US withdrew from in 2018. The deal offered sanctions relief in exchange for limits on Iran’s nuclear activities.

Snapback Mechanism

The E3 nations have warned they will initiate the “snapback mechanism”, a process to reinstate UN sanctions, by the end of August if talks do not resume or fail to reach progress.

Araqchi responded to the warning, saying: “If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly, and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the ‘snap-back’ for which they lack absolutely [any] moral and legal ground.”

The snapback mechanism would restore sanctions before the UN resolution linked to the 2015 deal expires on October 18.

Before the recent Israel-Iran war, Iran and the US had engaged in five rounds of nuclear talks mediated by Oman.

These discussions stalled due to disagreements, mainly over uranium enrichment, which Western countries want Iran to halt completely to prevent any risk of nuclear weapons development.

Iran continues to maintain that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes only.