Iran’s 350,000 Troops Emerge as Major US Army Focus amid Khamenei’s Defiant Claims

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei claimed Oct. 8 that U.S. and Israeli strikes had failed to undermine Iran’s domestic security forces, praising police personnel for resisting attacks launched in February under Operations Epic Fury and Roaring Lion.

Khamenei’s remarks on X also came as the U.S. Army released a new battlefield identification guide to help American troops recognize members of Iran’s conventional military, known as the Artesh, whose ground forces were estimated by the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security in June at 350,000 personnel.

“The criminal US-Zionist enemy’s desperate efforts and malicious attacks on the pillars of social order and security, which are unparalleled throughout history, have not caused the courageous personnel of the Police Force to waver even a fraction in their mission,” Khamenei wrote in a statement.

The criminal US-Zionist enemy’s desperate efforts and malicious attacks on the pillars of social order and security, which are unparalleled throughout history, have not caused the courageous personnel of the Police Force to waver even a fraction in their mission.

— Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (@MKhamenei_ir) October 8, 2026

Khamenei specifically praised Iran’s Law Enforcement Command, known as FARAJA, accusing the United States and Israel of targeting the institution responsible for maintaining domestic order.

“The focus and persistence of the criminal US-Zionist enemy in striking at the Police Force at its various levels, from its highest command levels down to those who are on the frontline, has only served to underscore the paramount importance of this institution more than ever,” he wrote. (Read more from “Iran’s 350,000 Troops Emerge as Major US Army Focus amid Khamenei’s Defiant Claims” HERE)