Iran Capable of Tracing Various US Stealth Aircraft: Commander
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The commander of the newly established Air Defense Force of the Iranian Army highlighted the country’s progress in producing radar systems and said the Islamic Republic is able to trace various advanced US stealth aircraft and send warnings to them.
Addressing a military ceremony on Monday, Brigadier General Alireza Sabahifard referred to Iran’s advances in the field of air defense and said the country has made remarkable progress through using the experiences of the eight years of the Sacred Defense (the Iraqi imposed war on Iran in the 1980s).
“Today, we are able to discover various types of so-called stealth aircraft and drones of the enemy and this is only a (small) part of the Army’s air defense capability,” he said.
“Today, we have achieved complete self-sufficiency in the field of radar systems and powerfully discover and warn a variety of advanced American aircraft,” the commander went on to say.
The remarks came against the backdrop of increased tensions between Iran and the US after the Islamic Republic shot down an advanced US spy drone over its territorial waters.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on June 20 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”.
Later on the same day, US President Donald Trump said he had called off a retaliatory attack on a number of targets in Iran and said that he was ready to speak with Iranian leaders and come to an understanding that would allow the country to improve its economic prospects. “What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like to see them call me.”
“I look forward to the day where we can actually help Iran. We're not looking to hurt Iran,” Trump added.
However, on June 24 Trump announced new sanctions against top Iranian officials, including the office of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Iran’s foreign minister, and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
