In this episode of Al Mayadeen’s Demystifying Iran, Seyed Mohammad Marandi traces the period after the war ended in 1988, when the battlefield fell silent, but the mission did not. Faced with US invasions, escalating threats, and constant pressure, Iran moved beyond wartime improvisation toward building a permanent, indigenous defense ecosystem. From universities and research programs to unified institutions like the Aerospace Industries Organization, Marandi explains how Iran transitioned from