Iran to Take US Aggression to UN: Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif deplored a recent US military drone’s incursion into the Islamic Republic’s airspace as an act of “aggression” saying the country will raise the issue at the United Nations.
“The US wages #EconomicTerrorism on Iran, has conducted covert action against us & now encroaches on our territory,” Zarif said on his official Twitter account on Thursday night.
“We don't seek war, but will zealously defend our skies, land & waters. We'll take this new aggression to #UN & show that the US is lying about international waters,” he added in his tweet.
The Iranian top diplomat also gave some details about the US drone’s encroachment on the country’s territory, saying “At 00:14 US drone took off from UAE in stealth mode & violated Iranian airspace. It was targeted at 04:05 at the coordinates (25°59'43"N 57°02'25"E) near Kouh-e Mobarak. We've retrieved sections of the US military drone in OUR territorial waters where it was shot down.”
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (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 intruding drone was reportedly shot by Iran’s homegrown air defense missile system “Khordad-3rd”.
In comments made a few hours after the incident, IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami said the shooting down of the US aircraft had a straightforward message that any foreign intrusion into Iran’s sovereign territories would draw a crushing response.
“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 said.
“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.
