Commander of the Iranian Army's Ground Forces Brigadier General Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan made the remarks in an interview with ISNA on Friday after Iran recently repelled a US drone that had intruded the country’s airspace.
“As soon as the US drone entered Iran’s airspace, [Iranian] aircraft took off to counter it and they made the drone escape, which indicates the high capabilities of the Armed Forces and their deep observation of the ground, air and sea, which allows them to monitor and counter the slightest movements,” Pourdastan said.
Pourdastan said that Iran boosts its combat capabilities in proportion to possible threats against the country.
One of the main duties of Iran’s Armed Forces is to monitor threats. We monitor all threats posed from ground, air and sea and will develop necessary capabilities in proportion to those threats, he added.
Iran’s Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said on November 9 that the Iranian military had repelled an unidentified aircraft that had entered the country’s airspace “above the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic in the Persian Gulf.”
The comments came a day after the Pentagon's claims that two Iranian warplanes had fired at a US drone as it was conducting a routine, but classified surveillance mission over the Persian Gulf about 16 nautical miles off the Iranian coast.
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