TEHRAN – The Islamic Republic has become so powerful that the enemy withdraws from wherever Iran steps in, says Chief of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Hossein Salami.

“Today, the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran has reached a level that… the enemy rapidly withdraws from wherever we step in,” Major General Salami said on Thursday, Tasnim reported.

He was highlighting the U.S. military’s failures in the face of the Iranian armed forces.

The senior general argued that Saudi Arabia and Israel, as U.S. friends, know that Washington won’t be able to support them in their tough days.

The remarks came against the backdrop of increased tensions between Tehran and Washington, after the Islamic Republic shot down an advanced U.S. spy drone over its territorial waters.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps said on June 20 that a U.S. 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.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated further after Yemeni armed forces conducted a large-scale operation against Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil installations last month, in response to the Saudi-led war on their country.

The Yemeni Houthi Ansarullah movement immediately took credit for the attacks, but U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo swiftly accused Iran of being behind the assault, without providing any evidence. Tehran categorically rejected the allegations.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia claimed that the strikes on its oil infrastructure came from the “north” and were “unquestionably” sponsored by Iran, adding that the Houthis were not responsible for the assault despite claiming it.

MH/PA