TEHRAN – Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi visited wounded security personnel in a Tehran hospital on Friday, personally conveying the warm greetings and profound appreciation of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, to those injured defending public safety during recent foreign-orchestrated riots and terror attacks.

During the visit, General Mousavi lauded the exceptional discipline of Iran’s young security forces. “If they had chosen, our forces could have suppressed the unrest in two hours through superior firepower,” he stated. “But the terrorists deliberately embedded themselves among civilians, using innocent people as human shields. This made it impossible to engage without endangering non-combatants.”

He said that on January 8, security units were strictly prohibited from direct fire and were not issued military-grade arms, yet official records show most injuries to both defenders and ordinary citizens stemmed from live rounds fired by the armed groups.

On Saturday, Mousavi condemned the “vast enemy media empire” for conducting cognitive warfare, systematically inverting facts to depict armed terrorists as peaceful demonstrators while ignoring the true nature of the violence.

The disturbances began as legitimate economic protests in late December 2025 but were quickly infiltrated by armed elements wielding smuggled U.S.- and Israeli-manufactured weapons.

Foreign officials and media amplified the violence, mischaracterizing arsonists and shooters as freedom advocates despite clear evidence of terrorist tactics.

Swift intelligence operations, public vigilance, and communication controls enabled authorities to neutralize the threat within days, preventing escalation.

The incident inflicted massive damage and claimed numerous lives, marking Iran’s most severe terrorist surge since the 1980s. Millions subsequently rallied nationwide in solidarity with security forces, a groundswell of support largely unreported abroad.

Iran’s military readiness has since intensified, with officials confirming an expanded missile arsenal and refined deterrence posture against persistent external threats.