Iran’s Defense Power Changed Enemy’s Language of Threat: Commander
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Iranian Defense Ministry's Marine Industries Organization Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari praised the country’s deterrent power and said the Islamic Republic has forced enemies to change their language of threat.
“The enemies’ pressures and sanctions have never prevented the youths of our homeland from progressing, and today, we have achieved a high level of self-sufficiency and deterrence,” Rear Admiral Rastegari said in a speech, addressing a congregation of worshippers in the northwestern city of Tabriz on Friday.
“Today, with the unparalleled command and leadership of the Commander-in-Chief of the Iranian Armed Forces (Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei) and the powerful defense industries…, Iran has such military power that the enemy, who several years ago used to threaten Iran by saying that the military option is on the table…, has been forced by us to change its literature,” the official noted.
Now, the enemies spoke only of “avoiding war” with Iran, which signifies the power of the Islamic Republic, he added.
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).
