September 21, 2026 Tehran: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a new warning that any renewed U.S. attack on Iran would be met with a substantially different military response, including the deployment of previously undisclosed weapons and the targeting of locations that have not previously been attacked. IRGC spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi said Iran would change both the weapons it uses and the geographical scope of the conflict if hostilities resume.
Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi
He said new weapons with new capabilities would be introduced and that “the world will be surprised/astonished. (Tasnim News). However, Mohebbi’s statement was not a detailed announcement of a particular missile, aircraft or drone. Rather, it was a strategic warning that Iran possesses military systems that it says have not yet been used in the conflict. According to the IRGC, a future confrontation would involve: new weapons and military equipment; capabilities that have not previously been demonstrated on the battlefield; new geographical areas of operation; new targets; a potentially longer-duration conflict. Mohebbi said that if another attack occurred, Iran’s defensive and counteroffensive operations would undergo “significant changes.” He also said that Iran had identified targets that had not previously been attacked. (Türkiye Today). Notably, the IRGC has not publicly provided enough technical information to independently establish what these undisclosed weapons are or how capable they are. Consequently, the “astonished” claim should be understood as an Iranian military warning rather than confirmation that a revolutionary new weapons system has already been independently verified. The statement comes amid continuing tensions between Iran and the United States following months of military confrontation.
Iranian missile Launch
The IRGC says the conflict is not finished. Mohebbi described it as a conflict with different phases rather than a war that has definitively ended. He said Iran was prepared for a prolonged confrontation and was now better prepared than before. (Tasnim News).This is significant because it suggests that Tehran’s military planning is not based solely on repeating the weapons and tactics used in earlier exchanges. Instead, the IRGC is signaling a possible transition toward greater operational unpredictability. However, Iran has developed a large and diverse missile arsenal over several decades. Its ballistic-missile programs include systems designed for different ranges and operational roles.
New Weapon Capability
Missiles remain particularly important to Iran because they allow Tehran to threaten distant military installations without relying on a conventional air force capable of matching the United States aircraft-for-aircraft. Recent Iranian military displays have also highlighted missile developments. Jane’s reported that an Iranian Armed Forces Day parade on September 21 displayed a missile identified as Jihad, reportedly associated with a range of approximately 1,000 km, although independent technical verification of Iranian claims remains limited. (Default). Unmanned aerial vehicles are another major element of Iran’s military strategy. Jane’s reported that Iran displayed what it identified as the Shahed-136B at the September 21 military parade. The publication noted that the UAV appeared substantially different from the established Shahed-136 design, but also stressed that official sources had not provided performance details. (Default). This is particularly relevant to Mohebbi’s comments because drones can provide Iran with relatively inexpensive ways of conducting surveillance, saturation attacks and long-range one-way strikes.
