Iran's top air defense commander says any aggression against the country's airspace will be met with a “deadly and fiery” response.
Brigadier General Qader Rahim Zadeh, who leads the Khatam ul-Anbia Joint Headquarters of Air Defense, made the comments on Sunday amid reports suggesting that Israel might decide to respond to a wave of overnight Iranian missile and drone attacks that targeted the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories.
“The Iranian airspace is insecure for aggressors and if the enemy makes any mistake in its calculations and carries out any aggression against the country’s airspace, it will definitely face a deadly and fiery response from the air defense systems,” said Rahim Zadeh.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force fired hundreds of drones and missiles toward targets deep inside the Israeli occupied territories in the early hours of Sunday in what the force said was a response to Israeli crimes against the Iranian nation, including an attack earlier this month on an Iranian consulate in Syria which killed senior military commanders.
Despite earlier threats by Israel that it would respond to a direct attack launched from the Iranian territory, the regime has yet to announce any retaliatory measures amid warnings issued by its main ally the United States that it would not support such an attack.
Rahim Zadeh said IRGC’s Aerospace Force had closely coordinated the attacks on Israel with civil aviation and air defense authorities in Iran.
He said that Iran’s air corridors are currently open for domestic and international flights.
“The corridors have been fully opened and flights through the (Iranian) airspace are being carried out in complete safety and in good conditions,” said the general.