Iranian Army Chief Major General Amir Hatami said that after the 12-day conflict with the US and Israel last June, the army has changed its military strategy.

The US-Iran standoff has reached a critical juncture, characterised by aggressive US military mobilisation and demands for a new nuclear deal

Zelenskyy said his country's 1,000 daily interceptor drones are "still not enough," even at a 2:1 manufacturing ratio against Russia's Shaheds.

With Russian ground troops bogged down in a grinding war of attrition, Moscow is striving to press home its advantage in the skies – through an ever-evolving army of drones, courtesy of Iran. In early January,

Launching 1,000 Shahed-type drones a day would be a massive surge in Russia's attack capability. Moscow has generally been deploying 5,000 to 6,000 Shaheds a month against Ukraine, and half to four-fifths of these are usually strike variants.

For nearly half a century, Iran has prepared for a war with the United States. Unable to match America’s military power, Tehran has instead focused on ways to impose heavy costs that could shake the Middle East and the global economy.

Iran's drone carrier, the Shahid Bagheri, has been stationed in the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz as a direct response to US naval presence in the region

The face-off has sent diplomatic shock waves across the region, with calls for negotiations to defuse tensions drawing in key regional actors.