Iran will give tough response to possible US aggression: Senior commander

Iran's chief Armed Forces spokesman has warned the United States against any possible act of aggression against the Islamic Republic, vowing a harsh response to enemies’ moves.

“If the US warmongers and their stooges carry out an immature and unprofessional act, they will definitely face the Iranian combatants’ tough response,” Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces, Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri, said on Saturday.

“The current military and security conditions of the Persian Gulf are in such a way that the enemy’s forces and equipment are completely within the reach of Iran's military forces,” he added.

He emphasized that the Iranian military forces have “full dominance and control over the Persian Gulf region more than ever.”

Jazayeri said the Islamic Republic and the Iranian Armed Forces would not joke with anybody when it comes to defense and security matters and would “definitely respond to any move that seeks to endanger the country’s security.”

The commander pointed to earlier US threats against Iranian ships and said, “Those who seek to cause Iranian boats to sink in the Persian Gulf have no military common sense.”

Back in September, US President-elect Donald Trump said during his election campaign that Iranian ships attempting to provoke America "will be shot out of the water" during his presidency.

On November 10, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri played down Trump’s harsh anti-Iran rhetoric, saying, “That person, who has just risen to power, has talked off the top of his head.”

Back in August, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said the country’s Armed Forces must boost their preparedness to deter any enemy aggression.

“In the face of such an enemy, which seeks to undermine the country’s defensive prowess, the Armed Forces’ preparedness must be boosted to an extent that the enemy would not even dare to think about any aggression,” Ayatollah Khamenei stated.

In January, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Navy arrested the crews of two US patrol boats that had trespassed into Iranian territorial waters. Iran released them after making sure that they had done so by mistake.