Iran uses seized US weapons to advance military capabilities: IRGC adviser

• IRGC adviser Brigadier General Ali Balali said Iran is studying seized US weapons and military equipment to strengthen its defence capabilities.
• Tehran aims to develop new weapons designs by adapting technologies rather than simply copying existing US systems.

Iran is using US weapons and military equipment it has seized to strengthen its defence capabilities and advance its weapons systems, according to a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) adviser.

Brigadier General Ali Balali, an adviser to the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, said Iranian experts were examining the seized equipment to identify technologies that could support the development of new military systems.

Iran's Mehr News Agency quoted Balali as saying in an interview with Russia's Novosti news agency that the process was not simply about reproducing US weapons.

Instead, Tehran seeks to study their designs, structures and underlying technologies to develop new ideas and weapons systems suited to the country's military requirements.

Balali added that Iranian experts were working to adapt the technologies they examined into new armament designs tailored to Iran's defence needs.