Tasnim – Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Hossein Salami highlighted Iran’s military might and said enemies know about “only a fraction” of the Islamic Republic’s defense capabilities.

Speaking on the sidelines of a visit to the IRGC units in Farsi Island, a tiny island in the Persian Gulf that is part of the southeastern province of Bushehr, on Thursday, Major General Salami said Iran’s military might has been repeatedly tested.

“Our enemies are aware of only a small part of the reality about our defense capability,” he said, adding, “However, they know the Islamic Republic of Iran’s military and security power is impenetrable and invincible.”

“The deterrent power of the Islamic Iran is built on overcoming big enemies and, by the grace of God, we are ready to preserve the national security, territorial boundaries and independence…,” the top 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 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.”

In a speech in April 2018, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said the US is aware of the crushing response it will have to face in case of taking military action against Iran.

The era of hit and run is now over, and the US knows that if it gets entangled in military action against Iran, it will receive much harsher blows, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined.

The US is seeking a way to evade the costs of standing against Iran and place them on regional countries, the Leader said, reminding certain regional countries that if they confront Iran, “they will definitely suffer blows and defeat”.