Lina Altawell
17 March 2026•Update: 17 March 2026
ISTANBUL
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said a “historic victory” by the Iranian people over what he called “the remnants of Epstein Island” is near, Tasnim News Agency reported.
“Forty-seven years ago, on the eve of the victory of the Iranian people in the Islamic Revolution, the ‘delusional’ prime minister of the Pahlavi regime said the sound of massive crowds in the streets was not real and was from tapes,” Ali Larijani said.
“Now Trump says the images of millions gathering in anti-American and anti-Israeli demonstrations in Iranian cities are artificial intelligence,” he added, according to Tasnim.
“The historic victory of the Iranian people over the remnants of Epstein Island is near,” he said, according to the report.
Separately, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Iran prevented its adversaries from imposing their plans and carried out its own strategy, the Iranian news agency ISNA reported.
“The enemy could not impose its plan on us, and we implemented whatever we had designed,” Qalibaf said, according to ISNA.
Qalibaf said Iran revised the design and systems of its launchers after the 12-day war, adding that adversaries “can no longer target them,” the report noted.
“In the current war, enemy drones, no matter how advanced, are tracked and destroyed,” he said. “This interception is carried out using domestic technology and expertise,” ISNA reported.
“The shadow of threat must be removed from the Islamic Republic of Iran and the region,” Qalibaf added, ISNA reported.
Hostilities in the region have escalated since Israel and the US launched joint attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, so far killing around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.
