IRGC likens US humiliating defeat to 1980 Tabas Operation fiasco
Parliament speaker derides Trump’s ’victory’ bluster in rescue op.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announced on Sunday that the United States has once again suffered a "humiliating defeat" on Iranian soil, likening the failed American mission to the 1980 "Operation Tabas" disaster.
"Following desperate measures by the American enemy to rescue the pilot of a downed fighter jet, and the subsequent entry of enemy aircraft into the central regions of the country, a joint operation was launched by the IRGC Aerospace and Ground Forces, alongside popular volunteer units (Basij) and Law Enforcement Forces (FARAJA)," the IRGC Public Relations Department said in a statement.
The statement confirmed that the enemy aircraft were intercepted and destroyed, asserting that "the United States has once again incurred a humiliating defeat, mirroring the failure of the Tabas Operation."
The IRGC further noted that US President Donald Trump had previously claimed in a tweet that a "special operation" was underway to rescue the pilot of the aircraft downed in Iran, an attempt the IRGC characterized as a "cover-up" for a heavy strategic failure.
Referencing the historical failure of the 1980 US rescue mission in the Tabas desert, the statement concluded with a direct warning, "Trump the gambler, the God of the sands of Tabas still exists."
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf also mocked on Sunday Trump's claims regarding last night's failed rescue operation by posting images of the downed American helicopters.
Sharing photos of a destroyed US aircraft — wrecked during a joint operation by Iran’s Armed Forces — on his official X account, Qalibaf said, "If the United States achieves three more such 'victories,' it will be completely destroyed."
Earlier, Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, announced that the "desperate efforts" by the enemy to rescue their downed fighter pilot had failed due to the timely joint operations of the IRGC, the Army, the Basij, and Law Enforcement Forces.
He confirmed that the aggressor aircraft, including two Black Hawk helicopters and one C-130 military transport plane, were struck in southern Isfahan and were seen burning following the successful defense by the "warriors of Islam."
The Army also announced the successful interception and destruction of a Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the skies over Isfahan.
"An hour ago, a 'Hermes 900' drone belonging to the US-Israeli aggressors was intercepted and destroyed by a successful strike from the Army's Air Defense Force systems in the general area of Isfahan,” the Army's Public Relations Department stated.
With the downing of this aircraft, the total number of enemy drones destroyed by the integrated network of the country's Joint Air Defense Headquarters has reached 162.