Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks during a ceremony marking Student Day in Qazvin, where he outlined the importance of “the 12-day war of the Zionist regime and the United States against Iran.”

He stressed that the war should not be viewed as a limited conflict between Iran and the occupying Tel Aviv regime.

Israel should be understood more broadly, he said, adding, “The Zionist regime means Western countries, it means the United States, it means every weapon that the United States has and every defensive and protection measure that some European countries possess is at the disposal of this regime.

He argued that victories in war are not determined by casualty figures or destruction.

Instead, he went on, the key question is whether a party has achieved its strategic objectives.

“You must see whether you have achieved your strategic objectives or not; if you have, you are victorious, and if not, you are defeated,” he said, emphasizing that “Israel did not achieve its strategic objectives and suffered a major defeat.”

The deputy minister said Iran inflicted “very, very heavy” damage on Israel during the conflict.

He noted that only part of the damage from Iranian missile strikes was published, saying Israel prevented the full extent from being known.

In contrast, he said, Iranian media showed events transparently, including mobile phone clips and state TV broadcasts.

Satellite images available to Tehran, along with information from various internal sources “from inside the territory of the Zionist regime,” all indicated that the scale of the damage was “very, very extensive,” Gharibabadi added.