TEHRAN – Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said late on Thursday that the Islamic Republic has become “invincible” by promoting its deterrence power.

The top general made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the memory of 6200 martyrs of the central province of Markazi.

When asked why the foes no longer talk of military option against Iran, Salami answered, “Because we have become powerful, because we have been invincible and, at the same time our enemies have been weakened and their options have become really weak,” Tasnim reported.

Speaking to reporters in the central province of Markazi late on Thursday, Major General Salami replied to a question as to why military option against Iran is no more on the table, saying,

The general added, “It is evident that the enemy no longer has the capability; once it wanted to act and force us to react, but today, the enemy is not even capable of reacting to our capabilities and this reality is seen today on the battlefields.”

He also pointed to Iran’s progress in defense industry, saying, “The (military) achievements are at a level that we do not announce them to the media but (generally speaking,) we are progressing on a daily basis in all areas, including missiles, drones, radars, air defense (gears), vessels, torpedoes, anti-armor missiles, and guided cannons…”

On August 22, the day marking National Defense Industry, the Iranian military displayed a domestically built long-range, surface-to-air missile air defense system.

The mobile air defense system, called Bavar-373, is considered as a competitor to the Russian S-300 missile system.

“With this long-range air defense system, we can detect ... targets or planes at more than 300 km (190 miles), lock it at about 250 km, and destroy it at 200 km,” Defense Minister Amir Hatami said at the time.

Iran has developed a large domestic arms industry in the face of international sanctions and embargoes that have barred it from importing many weapons.

On June 20 the IRGC shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone in the Persian Gulf with a domestically made surface-to-air missile. It was downed after it entered the Iranian airspace.

Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior military advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution who commanded the IRGC from 1997 to 2007, said on July 25 that “today Islamic Iran has turned into the greatest regional power.”

Also in remarks on September 29, Rahim Safavi said if the United States resorts to a military adventure against the Islamic Republic, Iran’s response will go beyond its territory and spread to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

“The Islamic Republic has turned into regional power in West Asia and is invincible, and if the Americans think of a plot the Iranian nation will respond to them from the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.”