Mojtaba Khamenei defies US strikes as American troops are handed battlefield guide to Iran's 350,000-strong army

From the Newshound archive · first published 12 October 2026.

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has claimed US and Israeli strikes failed to shake his police forces, praising FARAJA personnel for resisting Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion. Trump has countered that Iran's navy and air force no longer exist, with every Iranian ship 'at the bottom of the sea'. The US Army has now released a battlefield identification guide helping troops recognise members of Iran's conventional Artesh ground forces. Economic warfare is meanwhile stoking divisions inside Iran as peace talks continue.

Khamenei praised FARAJA's resistance on X, calling US-Israeli targeting of his police command an own goal that had only 'underscored its importance.'

The Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security estimated Iran's Artesh ground forces at 350,000 personnel as recently as June.

Trump and Iran both insist the approaching US midterm elections are not driving the pace of peace negotiations.