Downing of Spy Drone Clear Message to US: IRGC Commander

The commander of Iran’s Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that the force’s downing of a US spy drone over the southern parts of the country is a “clear message” that Tehran, while not seeking war, is completely ready to fight one.

Speaking at an event in Iran’s western Kordestan province, Major General Hossein Salami said the Islamic Republic will respond firmly to any intrusion.

“You heard today that in the early morning the IRGC’s Aerospace Force bravely downed an intruding American drone,” he said. “This is the manner in which the Iranian nation confronts its enemy.”

“The downing of the American drone conveyed a clear message and it was the fact that the defenders of Iran’s borders will give a crushing and finishing response to intrusions by any foreign entity,” he asserted.

The general noted that Iran considered its borders as its “red line” and said: “Any enemy that breaches these borders won’t go back [alive].”

“We declare that we don’t want to go into war with any country but we are fully prepared for war and today’s incident was a clear indication of this,” General Salami continued.

Earlier on Thursday, the IRGC announced that it had downed a US spy drone near the Strait of Hormuz, as it breached Iranian airspace over the coastal province of Hormuzagan.

An unnamed US military official confirmed that a US Navy MQ-4C Triton drone had been shot down in the region. However, the source claimed that the drone was flying in international airspace when it was hit with an Iranian surface-to-air missile.

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