Iranian press review: Unexploded US Tomahawks used to develop missile technology

Tehran builds new technology from captured US missiles 

Iranian armed forces are reverse-engineering US-made Tomahawk missiles recovered during the US-Israeli war to replicate their technology, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.

Mehr said some of the Tomahawk missiles were recovered partly intact after their detonation systems failed or were disrupted by Iran’s electronic warfare capabilities.

The agency said Iran is using these missiles to develop its own missile systems.

“In the 40-day war, Iran’s strategy switched to gaining knowledge from the battlefield. Every Tomahawk missile that landed and did not explode was an advanced textbook for Iranian engineers,” Mehr reported.

Mehr's claim has not been confirmed by other sources. However, Iranian officials have said they have detonated or neutralised American and Israeli munitions since a ceasefire took effect on 7 April. 

On the last day of the war, the ILNA news agency published an image showing an unexploded missile that struck part of Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, identifying it as a Tomahawk.

Iran has faced international sanctions on buying and selling weapons since 1979. Over the decades, it has used similar methods to develop its own missiles and drones.

Uncertainty over housing for people displaced by war

Since the war began, Tehran’s municipality has said residents whose homes were destroyed in US-Israeli attacks could stay in city hotels for free until they found new housing or rebuilt their homes.

But on Saturday, the Etemad daily reported that some displaced Iranians staying in hotels in the capital had been told to leave by the end of the week and find alternative housing.

One resident, whose home was severely damaged in an explosion, told Etemad: “I have nowhere to go. The fire department and the Red Crescent say my house is uninhabitable. Even if it was not destroyed, there are no stairs left in the building for me to reach my apartment.”

He said the city had placed 6,677 people in 45 hotels and housing complexes, adding: “As long as their housing problems are not solved, the municipality will cover all accommodation costs.”

Prominent thinker calls for dialogue with the public

Mohammad Reza Tajik, a leading figure in political philosophy in Iran, has urged the government to reconcile with the public and criticised hard-line voices pushing for continued war with the US and Israel.

Writing on the Jamaran website, which is close to the grandson of Ruhollah Khomeini, Iran’s first supreme leader, Tajik said officials must respond to public demands as well as international pressures.

“It is only in the light of practical reason that one can discern what, in the present conditions, is to be done and what is to be left undone; and in this darkness of the world’s night, it becomes clear which is the path and which is the path astray,” he wrote in his distinctive writing style.

He also said officials should use the current circumstances to bring an end to the war with the US and Israel.

“Through clear signs of a will to change, and a turning away from what has left so many citizens feeling dissatisfied, powerless, alienated, abandoned and without effect, these many [must] be given hope for the coming of that day of joy when they will be reconciled,” he wrote.

UAE’s role in regional tensions draws attention

The disclosure of close military cooperation between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, along with Abu Dhabi's exit from Opec, has led to speculation in Iran about the Gulf state's role in future political and military tensions in the region.

Iranian commentary has focused on these developments and what they may signal for the Emirati regional position.

Writing in the reformist daily Shargh, Mehdi Bazargan pointed to statements by US officials that downplayed Iranian attacks on the UAE reported to have taken place on 4 and 5 May, describing it as a sign that Washington may be stepping back from its ally.

Bazargan suggested that the UAE could move closer to Israel and seek broader military cooperation with Tel Aviv based on what it saw during the war and the level of US support.

“Even if some actors like Israel can push him towards a new escalation of tension with Iran, the end result will be nothing but the formation of a ‘scorched earth’ in the UAE.”

The analyst also described the 2020 agreement that normalised relations between Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi as a strategic mistake, saying it was based on the assumption that the US and Israel could defend the UAE against military threats.

“Normalising relations with Israel in practice exposed Abu Dhabi to a more complex game whose requirements exceed the country’s actual capacities,” he wrote. “The idea of enjoying security benefits without accepting the consequences on the ground is now at odds with the harsh regional realities.”

A report by The Wall Street Journal on Monday said the UAE had quietly launched military strikes on Iran, exposing Abu Dhabi’s role as an active participant in the Israeli-US war.

People familiar with the matter told the newspaper that Emirati forces targeted a refinery on Iran’s Lavan Island in the Gulf in early April. The UAE has not publicly acknowledged the operation. 

*Iranian press review is a digest of news reports not independently verified as accurate by MEE.