Iran22 August, 20263 min read
Iran Defense Ministry Spokesman Reza Talaei-Nik Says Defense Output Doubled From July 2025 To July 2026
Defense ministry says weapons and equipment production doubled in the past year. Strategic defense products rose more than threefold during the recent war.
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Production doubles after war
Iran’s Defense Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Reza Talaei-Nik said the country’s defense industry has doubled its annual output from July 2025 to July 2026 compared with the previous year, and he said production has continued alongside the use of Iranian-made defense systems supported by strategic stockpiles. Talaei-Nik said that since late February, when the US-Israeli war of aggression began, defense production has increased by more than threefold for some strategic and priority items needed for wartime requirements, and he said this was contrary to claims by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a televised special news program on Friday, Talaei-Nik said “One of the prominent features of our defense industry is the speed and capability to produce defense products,” adding that weapons and ammunition used on the battlefield are replaced at the same speed.
He also said Iran’s defense production had increased significantly over the past year, from July last year to July this year, particularly following the 12-day war, and he described the Islamic Republic of Iran as resisting domination. Talaei-Nik said secrecy is essential to prevent vulnerabilities and avoid giving adversaries an opportunity to launch surprise attacks, and he said Iran has significantly reduced weapons and equipment unveilings over the past two years.
Claims, denials, and sanctions
Talaei-Nik said Iran achieved a twofold increase in the production of weapons, equipment and ammunition over the past year “Despite claims by US and Israeli officials, including [US President Donald] Trump and the Israeli prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu],” and he said production of some strategic and priority items required on the war fronts had increased by more than three times compared with production levels during the war. Iran’s acting deputy defence minister Brigadier-General Shahrokh Shahram said the enemy thought targeting a few points related to the Ministry of Defence could cut off Iran’s military supply chain, but he said “in practice, however, it became clear that Iran’s defense industry relies on a broad network of industrial, academic and knowledge-based capacities.”
In a separate thread of messaging, Hezbollah said new US sanctions “will not deter” it from adhering to the path of resistance and the right of Lebanon and the Lebanese to defend their land, sovereignty and resources, and it said it “does not need anyone to vouch for its Lebanese identity and patriotism.” Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian said the war with the United States should be brought to an end while Iran is in a position of “power and dignity,” and he said “We will under no circumstances bow to bullying.”
Scale-up plans and secrecy
WANA reported that Iran’s Defense Ministry says the country has doubled its production of weapons and defense equipment over the past year and that it is planning to triple overall production of defense equipment and weapons, with four- to five-fold increases projected in some areas. WANA said the number of private and knowledge-based companies involved in Iran’s defense supply chain has risen from around 8,000 to between 9,300 and 9,400 over the past year, representing an increase of roughly 20 percent, and it said more than 1,000 types of weapons, defense systems and equipment are now being produced with the participation of these companies. Talaei-Nik told Defense Industry Day audiences that restrictions on publicly displaying new weapons and the suspension of some military exhibitions do not indicate a slowdown in weapons development, and he said the measures are intended to protect military information and prevent adversaries from gaining detailed knowledge of Iran’s defense capabilities.
Mehr News Agency also quoted Talaei-Nik saying “We use our own equipment and simultaneously continue producing,” and it said some strategic products with wartime priority had seen output increase more than threefold during the conflict. Mehr News Agency further said Iran’s defense industry expanded from producing only 31 basic products before the 1979 Islamic Revolution to manufacturing more than 1,000 advanced systems, weapons and ammunition today.