Iran’s Downing of American Drone Shattered US’ Int’l Image: Cleric
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Tehran’s Provisional Friday Prayers Leader Hojjatoleslam Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi Fard highlighted recent defeats of the Washington government in the face of Iran and said the Islamic Republic’s recent move to shoot down an American drone shattered the aura of US invincibility.
Addressing a congregation of worshippers after Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice) prayers in Tehran on Monday, Aboutorabi Fard hailed Iran’s power in the international arena that has been proven to the world over the past weeks.
He referred to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as “the powerful men in green” and said when they targeted and hit the US drone, they, in fact, proved to the world that the US is nothing but a paper tiger and shattered its international image.
“The Islamic Republic’s strategy has been shown to the world for four decades and based on this strategy, we have resisted and stood against the US and the hegemonic system,” the cleric 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 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.