TEHRAN – Major General Mohammad Baqeri, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, said on Wednesday that a crushing response is awaiting those who threaten the security of Iran and its borders.

General Baqeri made the remarks at a local event in Taybad while paying a visit to Iran’s northeast border, according to Mehr.

Today, Iran will thwart any plot hatched by the enemies against the sustainable security of this country with the presence of revolutionary scholars, including Sunnis and Shias, as well as the Iranian armed forces, he added.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington entered a new stage since April when the U.S. designated the IRGC (part of the Iranian military) as a terrorist organization, announced that it does no renew waivers for the remaining buyers of the Iranian oil, and started beefing up its military presence in the region, particularly in the Persian Gulf.

The tensions further escalated on June 20, when the Iranian military shot down an unmanned U.S. surveillance drone after it breached Iran’s airspace. The U.S. drone entered the Iranian airspace from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In comments made a few hours after the incident, IRGC Chief Major General Hossein Salami said the shooting down of the U.S. drone had a straightforward message that any foreign intrusion into Iranian territories would draw a crushing response.

MH/PA