IRGC Marks 48th Anniversary, Vows Shattering Strikes Beyond Enemy Calculation

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) marked its 48th anniversary by declaring that its forces are ready to deliver “achievements and surprises beyond the understanding and calculation” of hostile powers, using “new capabilities on the battlefield.”

In a statement issued Wednesday, the IRGC said its multiple branches and the Basij volunteer force are prepared to create “achievements and surprises beyond the understanding and calculation” and to respond immediately and decisively to any renewed aggression.

Akhir Khabar

The IRGC statement highlighted “recent large-scale missile and drone operations” that it said inflicted “crippling and devastating blows” on “Israeli and US military infrastructure in the region.”

It added that those strikes led to a “cognitive void” and “subsequent miscalculations by the enemy,” framing the outcome as a strategic effect on adversary decision-making.

The statement specifically referenced “Operation True Promise 4,” described as involving “100 coordinated waves of combined missile and drone strikes.”

The IRGC also warned that a potential next round of military confrontation would bring “shattering strikes beyond enemy imagination” against remaining hostile assets in the region, while praising “widespread public support for the armed forces as a strategic asset.”

Multiple outlets tied the IRGC’s anniversary messaging to “Operation True Promise 4” and to a broader escalation timeline that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Trend News Agency, datelined from BAKU, Azerbaijan on April 22, said the IRGC statement warned that “The Iranian Armed Forces will inflict heavier blows on the other side in the event of a new war.”

Al Jazeera

Trend quoted the IRGC statement saying that in the “40-day war,” the IRGC carried out “100 stages of Operation True Promise 4,” which it said “seriously damaging the military structure of the U.S. and Israel in the region.”

Trend then linked the escalation to February 28, when “the United States and Israel launched military airstrikes against Iran,” and said Iran retaliated with “missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and U.S. installations in the region.”

After that, Trend reported that “a two-week ceasefire agreement was brokered on April 7 through Pakistan's mediation,” and that during talks in Islamabad on April 11 “no consensus was reached.”

Trend added that on April 21, U.S. President Donald Trump stated he “extended the ceasefire until Iran submits its proposal and discussions are concluded, one way or the other.”

Another strand of reporting described a specific IRGC action tied to “Operation 'The Faithful Promise 4'” and a strike on an American base in Kuwait.

In a report from أمد للإعلام | West Asian, the outlet said the IRGC announced the execution of the “third stage of wave 37 of Operation 'The Faithful Promise 4'” by targeting “the American Camp Arifjan base south of Kuwait City.”

The report stated that the third stage was carried out by the IRGC’s “Ground Forces' missile unit,” and that it targeted “the headquarters of the American terrorists” on “the night of the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him),” via “firing four missiles.”

It further said that “the Camp Arifjan American base south of Kuwait City was also targeted with the launch of two missiles” by the same missile unit.

The report included a warning from Brig. Gen. Majid Mousavi, identifying him as “the commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force,” and quoted him on his X account: “O dear people! Your sons are placing Qurans on their heads this night beside the missile launch platforms. Pray for Iran's soldiers on this Night of Destiny, for soon the enemy will face new surprises.”

The same outlet said the IRGC confirmed on Wednesday that it launched a “strong attack against American bases in Iraq and Israel,” as part of Operation “The Faithful Promise 4” launched in response to “the American-Israeli aggression at the end of February.”

Other reports emphasized IRGC claims about intercepting drones and about casualties from “American-Israeli attacks” affecting Iranian territory and regional targets.

بوابة الهدف الإخبارية | West Asian said the IRGC’s Public Relations Directorate announced the interception and destruction of an armed unmanned aircraft of the MQ-9 model in Firoozabad in Fars Province in the south of the country, and another drone in the skies over Tabriz in the west.

Al-Manar TV Lebanon

That report stated that the IRGC affirmed the “total number of drones destroyed to date stands at 111 drones of various models,” and it added that Iran’s military, in “Statement No. 26,” reported the destruction of “5 drones belonging to the aggressor within the last 48 hours,” bringing the total number of drones shot down since the start of the “American-Zionist” aggression to “109 drones.”

It also said the statement noted that the enemy’s advanced drones were “in most cases, struck by the armed forces' defense systems before they could carry out their offensive operations,” stressing the ability to protect “national airspace.”

Separately, اليـوم السابع | West Asian reported that the Iranian province of Hamadan announced on Thursday that “50 Iranians were killed and 286 others were wounded” in “American-Israeli attacks on Hamadan Province,” and said the attacks targeted “up to now 40 sites across the province.”

The same report said the province statement carried by Tasnim News Agency added that nearly half of the sites were “civilian sites,” including “residential areas, production units, and some commercial and industrial establishments,” and it specified that “20” residents were killed inside the province and “30” others outside its borders.

The reporting also framed the conflict in terms of deterrence, regional order, and warnings about consequences for infrastructure and for the wider region.

In Tabnak’s account, citing the Public Relations Department of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the statement said Imam Khomeini’s “thought and path” remains the “master plan” and that under “the guidance and wise leadership of his worthy and fit successor, the exalted Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Ayatollah Ali Khamenei,” the developments of today have “led to the disruption of the balance of power in the world.”

Anadolu Ajansı

Tabnak’s text attributed Iran’s rise to events “from the eight-year war to today’s hybrid and cognitive warfare and sanctions and all-encompassing threats,” and it said the “conquest of the summits of the aspirations of many other countries in strategic arenas” reflects “the realization of the truthful promises of the dear Imam and founder” and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.

It also praised “the martyr Haj Qassem Soleimani” for “generating deterrence power for the country,” and it referenced “the “ Zionist anti-initiative” operation, and the “American anti-operation” against the Ain al-Asad military base.”

In a separate report, اليـوم السابع | West Asian quoted Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani warning that “attacking Iran's electricity would lead to a blackout across the entire region,” responding to threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to strike Iran’s power grid.

The same report said Larijani wrote that Trump claimed he could destroy Iran’s electricity within “one hour,” but that “he did not do so,” and that “the entire region would experience a power outage within half an hour” if he undertook such an action.