Iran's new Minister of Defense, Mehrdad Akhlaghi, stated that his "first hour in office was dedicated to meeting the needs of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force and the Army Air Defense Force." Akhlaghi emphasized: "For us, responding to recurring threats is not a war of words; it is about transforming threats into greater readiness and more effective defensive power. We are focused on leveraging new technologies to achieve our goals." He added: "We would rather eat dirt than give up an inch of our land."