Iranian general warned on Saturday that any action against Tehran would have serious consequences for US interests in the region, Tasnim News Agency reported.
“Firing one bullet towards Iran will set fire to the interests of America and its allies” in the Middle East, armed forces general staff spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi told the news agency.
Shekarchi’s stark warning follows a revelation by US President Donald that he had stopped an airstrike against three sites in Iran 10 minutes before it was set to be carried out upon learning that some 150 Iranians would die as a result of the attack.
His decision was made shortly after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that they had downed a US Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk spy drone flying over the coastal Hormozgan Province, claiming that it had violated the country’s airspace. Meanwhile, the US Central Command said that the unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down while flying over international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.
At the time, IRGC Commander-in-Chief, Major General Hossein Salami, described the downing of the drone as a “clear message” to Washington that Tehran would “react strongly” to any aggression.