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Iran warns of ‘stronger’ response if US again violates airspace

The speaker of Iran’s parliament has warned the U.S. of a “stronger” response if it enters the country’s airspace again.

By World Israel News Staff

Ali Larijani, speaker of Iran’s parliament, said Iran will act more forcefully the next time the U.S. violates its airspace. He made his remarks to media in the city of Qom on Wednesday, Iran’s state news agency Tasnim reported.

“The downing of the American drone was an experience for them not to violate our borders. But, if they do it, the Armed Forces will give them a stronger reaction,” Larijani said, according to Tasnim. Larijani made his comments while praising technological advances in Iran’s military.

On June 20, Iran shot down a U.S. Navy drone.

The U.S. said the drone was in international airspace above the Strait of Hormuz, the sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. Iran says it was in its airspace.

“The drone was definitely in the waters of Iran as reports show that it was four miles or more than seven kilometers inside the Iranian territorial waters,” Iran Brig. General Majid Fakhri said on Tuesday.

The Trump administration considered a military response but held back, instead imposing additional sanctions on Iran, including specifically its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

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But President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday additional Iranian attacks “on anything American” would lead to “obliteration” of parts of Iran.

His comments followed remarks by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that the  White House is “afflicted by mental retardation.”

Trump tweeted on Tuesday, “Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration” He called Rouhani’s comments “ignorant and insulting.”

He also tweeted: “Iran leadership doesn’t understand the words ‘nice’ or ‘compassion,’ they never have. Sadly, the thing they do understand is Strength and Power, and the USA is by far the most powerful Military Force in the world, with 1.5 Trillion Dollars invested over the last two years alone.”