TEHRAN – The deputy commander of the Iranian Air Force has said that his forces are always ready to defend the country, warning that it will deliver a devastating response to any threat.

Brigadier General Mehdi Hadian made the remarks before a group of commanders and senior generals on Sunday.

“The Iranian Army's Air Force has faced a total ban for 43 years by arrogant regimes, but its fighter jets are carrying out the tasks of maintaining the security of the Islamic Republic of Iran and defending the country's airspace in the best way,” he said.

He continued, “The Air Force was able, relying on its own capabilities, to carry out all the tasks and responsibilities entrusted to it in the best possible way, which is evidence of the internal capabilities and the efficient and capable human cadres.”

He described the Iranian army's air force as supportive of the Islamic Republic of Iran's leadership and people, and that it enjoys constant readiness to defend the country and responds destructively to any threat.

The remarks came at a time when the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) conducted the first launch of precision and medium-range Cruise missiles from a warship, and carried out aerial operations for drones during a military drill code-named the Great Prophet 17.

Two senior Iranian generals have announced that the recent military exercise staged by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) was intended to respond to brazen Israeli threats against Iran.

In remarks made at the final phase of the drill, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri and IRGC Commander Major General Hossein Salami made it clear on Friday that whom the drill was meant to deter: Israel.

Underlining that the missile part of the drill is carrying “very clear and obvious messages,” General Salami said, “The message of this drill is a serious, real, and field warning to threats by the Zionist regime’s officials that they should take care not to make mistakes and faults and if they make mistakes, we will cut off their hands.”

The IRGC commander-in-chief said that the difference between the actual operation and the IRGC's missile drill was only in changing the angles of launching the missile. “Therefore, enemies must watch their words,” the general said. 

General Bagheri further amplified the warning by hinting that Iran expedited the timing of the drill due to Israel’s bluster against Iran. “This exercise was planned in advance, but the many yet empty threats by the leaders of the Zionist regime [Israel] caused this exercise to take place at this time, and thank God, it was one of the most successful missile exercises of the Islamic Republic of Iran so far,” he said. 

General Bagheri stressed that such threats are unacceptable to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Great Prophet 17 drill was conducted along the southern coastlines of the country on December 29 and lasted until December 24. It involved various forces of the IRGC such as the aerospace force and the cyber-electronic division.