TEHRAN -- A senior military commander says Iran’s armed forces will not allow any aerial objects to enter the country’s airspace without authorization, warning of a crushing response to such an intrusion.
Brigadier Ali Asadi, commander of Iran’s Western Air Defense Zone, made the remark in a ceremony held in the western province of Hamadan to commemorate the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
He touched on the role of the military division under his command, saying Iran’s air defense will not allow any unauthorized aerial vehicle to enter the country’s skies and will give a crushing response with great aplomb.
“The most important and fundamental factor in the victory of the Islamic Revolution was the uprising of the people who had faith in the thoughts of the founder of the Revolution who had no apprehensions other than the dignity of Iran and the Iranian nation and not being dependent on foreigners,” he said.
“The high standing of Iran, especially the country’s armed forces, has been established with the support of the Iranian people and the commitment and patriotism of its youths.”
The Iranian nation toppled the despotic regime of Pahlavi, which was fully supported by the United States, in the winter of 1979 after the shah regime was forced to allow the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam Khomeini to return from exile.
On the 43rd anniversary of the auspicious occasion, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) unveiled on Wednesday a new ballistic missile with a range of 1,450 kilometers (900 miles).
The precision strike ballistic missile, dubbed Khaybar Shekan, is capable of striking its designated targets with pinpoint accuracy.
A Pentagon study has recently acknowledged Iran’s missile power, saying its arsenal is larger than that of any other country in West Asia.
“Iran has an extensive missile development program, and the size and sophistication of its missile force continue to grow despite decades of counter-proliferation efforts aimed at curbing its advancement,” it said.
Despite decades of sanctions imposed by Washington, Iran has made significant achievements in its ballistic missiles program.
Last month, an American political analyst said Iran’s missile program has disrupted the strategic military calculations of the United States in West Asia, altering the balance of power in a region where Washington has long sought to maintain a military edge.
“The U.S. fears Iran is upsetting the hitherto American-enforced regional balance of power whereby Washington and its allies were supposed to have a decisive military advantage over the Islamic Republic,” Andrew Korybko, a Moscow-based American political commentator, told Press TV.
Iran’s missile program, he said, has increased the cost of a potential military confrontation for the United States. It has caused Americans to second-guess their policies and resort to unconventional means to destabilize Iran, including through proxy warfare against its regional partners, Korybko said.