TEHRAN – Former chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says Iran’s great advances in producing different military equipment has rendered ineffective the military threats against the Islamic Republic.

“The type of threats in the fifth decade of the Islamic Revolution is different compared with previous decades,” Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said on Saturday, Fars reported.

He added that the threats against the Islamic Republic at its early stages were military and security ones, but today “the enemy knows that it will be a disgrace if it makes such mistake.”

Jafari also referred to the recent downing of a U.S. spy drone in Iranian airspace by homegrown missiles, reiterating that the enemy is well aware of Iran’s military power.

The IRGC Aerospace Force shot down an American spy drone over the territorial waters of Iran near the Strait of Hormuz at dawn on June 20.

Commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said his forces could have shot down a U.S. P8 aircraft with 35 on board which was violating Iran’s airspace, but decided to only shoot down the drone to send a message to Washington.

“We intended to send a message to American terrorists in the region,” Hajizadeh said.

“Our response to anything trespassing Iranian territory will be like this,” he said. “We don’t embrace war but we are ready to fully defend the country.”

MH/PA