Iran vows crushing response to any aggressor

Iran will give a crushing response to any possible act of aggression against the country, says a commander.

Speaking during a live televised interview on Saturday, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the second-in-command of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said Iran’s Armed Forces are determined to defend the Iranian territorial integrity and national interests in case of any invasion.

He added that the recent capture of 10 US Marines, who had trespassed on Iran’s territorial waters, was proof of the power of Iran’s naval forces, describing it as a clear victory for Iran at a crucial juncture.

The IRGC commander said this incident was a determining development in the region, because it made all foreign forces face a new reality and change their assessment of the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran in defending its territorial integrity and vital interests.

“We will continue to boost our defense capability and our missiles will be updated day by day,” Salami said, adding that Iran reserves the right to develop conventional weapons in order to “defend its independence and territorial integrity.”

On January 13, the IRGC announced that ten US Marines, who had drifted into the country’s territorial waters in the Persian Gulf and had been taken into Iranian custody, had been released after Americans apologized for the incident.

Earlier the same day, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, the commander of the IRGC Navy, said two US Navy crafts carrying 10 Marines had reached three miles into the waters surrounding the Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf.

Fadavi added that the trespassing occurred because of technical problems with the navigation systems of the US vessels.

On January 20, US Secretary of State John Kerry thanked Iranian authorities for their cooperation in the release of US Navy sailors.

Addressing a press briefing at the National Defense University in Washington, Kerry said the peaceful resolution of the issue was a “testament to the critical role that diplomacy plays” in keeping the US safe.