Israeli defense company Elbit Systems said its Hermes 900 drones helped locate dozens of concealed Iranian ballistic missile launchers during the June war between Israel and Iran, The Jerusalem Post reported.
Amir Bettesh, vice president for unmanned aircraft systems marketing at Elbit, told a drone technology conference in Tel Aviv that the Hermes 900, known in the Israeli Air Force as the Kochav, also assisted in striking Iranian air defenses, radar systems, and ammunition depots.
According to Bettesh, about 70 percent of Israel’s flight hours during the conflict were carried out by drones rather than piloted aircraft. He said the performance of the Hermes 900 underscored the continued importance of medium-sized drones to Israel’s security, even as other militaries scale back their use.
At the same event, Orbit Communications CEO Daniel Eshchar said future air wars may be fought “almost without human resources,” with 90–95 percent of flight time handled by drones. He added that Israel’s use of unmanned aircraft was already shaping the way future conflicts would be fought.
“It is now dangerous to approach nuclear installations because of security issues,” Araghchi told France 24 in Paris. “There are unexploded munitions, and there are also concerns regarding radioactivity and chemical contamination.”
He said inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency continue at facilities that were not attacked, but access to damaged sites requires “a new framework and proper modalities.”
Araghchi called last week’s resolution by the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors “a political and unilateral decision,” saying it ignored the reality that Iranian nuclear sites had been bombed. “If you do not include the realities on the ground, then you are committing an error,” he said.
The minister said the Cairo agreement reached earlier this year with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi had acknowledged that conditions had changed after the attacks and that a new inspection protocol would be needed.
Further attacks possible
Asked whether more strikes could occur, Araghchi said Israel’s recent record suggested the risk remains. “The Israeli regime over the last two years has attacked seven different countries,” he said. “So it’s clear that another attack is possible.”
His comments came a day after IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in Manila that the agency wants to “fully reengage with Iran” to restore inspection access and verify enrichment activities. The IAEA’s 35-member Board of Governors last week passed a resolution calling on Tehran to inform it “without delay” about the status of its enriched uranium stock and sites hit in June’s strikes.
Iran condemned the vote as “illegal and unjustified,” saying it undermined the Cairo inspection accord that Grossi reached with Tehran in September through Egyptian mediation. Araghchi accused Western powers of “killing” that agreement, saying it had provided a framework for cooperation before Israel and the United States bombed enrichment facilities during the 12-day conflict in June.
No enrichment after attacks
Earlier this month, Araghchi said Iran was no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, citing the destruction caused by the attacks. “There is no enrichment right now because our facilities — our enrichment facilities — have been attacked,” he said in response to a question from an Associated Press journalist at a conference in Tehran. “There is no undeclared nuclear enrichment in Iran. All of our facilities are under the safeguards and monitoring” of the IAEA.
Iran had previously enriched uranium up to 60% purity — just short of weapons-grade levels — after the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal in 2018. Tehran says its atomic program is entirely peaceful.
