Tabnak – The downing of an American spy drone by the Iranian military is still a hot topic for discussion among the media and policy circles around the world. While emphasizing that the drone had violated Iran’s airspace, Iranian officials reiterate that the country will show a frim response to any aggressions.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has tweeted a map with detailed coordinates that shows a US spy drone shot down two days ago was within the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters.
"For more visual detail on the path, location, and point of impact of the US military drone Iran shot down on Thursday, and of the waters over which it was flying, see these maps and coordinates," Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on his Twitter account on Saturday.
"There can be no doubt about where the vessel was when it was brought down," Zarif wrote. The map also showed two yellow squares on the flight path of the doomed drone which indicated Iranian radio warnings sent to the aircraft.
"One last visual: Red dot is the impact point of the trespassing drone against the border of Iran; and the border of the United States," Zarif stressed.
Meanwhile, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corpse (IRGC) says the US drone intrusion into the Iranian airspace could have been carried out by a “general” or “several operators”.
"It may be that the violation by the Americans has been carried out by a general or several operators," head of the IRGC’s aerospace division General Amirali Hajizadeh said on Saturday.
"We are not aware of this issue, but this is a violation of the international aviation regulations by a spy plane that faced our natural response," he told state news agency IRNA.
"Our response to the invasion of the Iranian space is such, and if we the aggression is repeated, our response will also be repeated," General Hajizadeh added.
On the other hand, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Saturday that Iran will not allow any incursions by the United States into its borders regardless of the response that may come from Washington.
"Regardless of any decision they make, we will not allow a violation of the Islamic Republic's borders and are ready to confront any threat against the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran," Mousavi said.
"Our decisions do not hinge on their decisions and we will confront any incursion - whether it comes with threats or not," he added.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corpse (IRGC) shot down a US surveillance drone Thursday in the Strait of Hormuz after it did not heed four warning signals, even as the force spared a second spy plane carrying 35 passengers which accompanied the downed aircraft.
Hours after the incident, the US military confirmed that one of its drones had been shot, claiming that the incident took place in international airspace.
