IRGC Chief: Downing of US Drone Had a Clear Message

Addressing a conference in the western province of Kurdistan on Thursday, Major General Hossein Salami described the IRGC Aerospace Force’s move to shoot down an American pilotless aircraft that had violated the country’s airspace as courageous.

“The downing of the US drone had an explicit, decisive and clear message that defenders of the Islamic Iran’s borders will show decisive and knockout reactions to aggression against this territory by any alien,” he added.

“Borders are our redline, and any enemy violating these borders will not go back,” the commander underlined.

He also made it clear that Iran is not seeking war with any country but is fully prepared for any confrontation. “Today’s incident was a clear sign of such a precise message.”

The general also reminded the enemies that the only way for them to remain safe is to respect Iran’s territorial integrity, national security and vital interests.

The IRGC said on Thursday that a US spy drone that violated the Iranian territorial airspace in the early hours of the day, was shot down by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s air defense unit near the Kooh-e-Mobarak region in the southern province of Hormozgan.

The incident occurred a day after Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani warned of Tehran’s harsh response to any intrusion into its airspace or maritime borders.

Speaking on the sidelines of the 10th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues in Russia’s Ufa on Wednesday, Shamkhani emphasized that Iran robustly protects its aerial and maritime borders.

He also described the Iranian FIR (flight information region) as the country’s “redline”, saying, “No matter whose plane trespasses into it (the airspace), we have always given and will give a harsh response to intruders.”

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