“We warn the Islamic Republic’s enemies, particularly the US, against taking any wrong measures in the [Persian Gulf] region if they wish to keep their troops safe,” commander of the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters Major General Gholam Ali Rashid said on Friday.
He noted, “Sending messages is not enough for preventing war and conflict,” adding that achieving such a goal entails effective measures and appropriate behavior.
Major General Rashid made the comments on the sidelines of a joint military drill with the Army.
The Iranian Air Force units are holding a two-day large-scale military exercise, codenamed ‘Guardians of Velayat Sky-98’, in the central province of Semnan, simulating the Persian Gulf general area and the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The drill is aimed at testing the country’s latest military equipment and to enhance its preparedness in the face of potential threats in the simulated conditions of real war. The drill includes various types of homegrown missile systems and radars countering aerial threats in low, medium and high altitudes.
Iran has conducted major military drills in recent years to enhance the defense capabilities of its Armed Forces and to test modern military tactics and state-of-the-art equipment.
The drill is being held at a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the US.
In the past few months, the US has also taken a quasi-warlike posture against Iran and stepped up its provocative military moves in the Middle East, among them sending an aircraft carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the region.
On Tuesday, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of all oil consumed globally passes.
MNA/4777918
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