Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 9 /Trend S.Isayev/
Iran will give a 'firm response' to any air, ground and sea aggression, vowing to confront any foreign aircraft violating the country's airspace, deputy chairman of Iranian Armed Forces' Chiefs of Staff Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said, Press TV reported.
Jazayeri's statement came after the Commander of Khatam Al-Anbiya base Farzad Esmaili yesterday said that Iran will soon be holding massive Air defense drills "Velayat-4", with joint participation of Iranian army, IRGC and Basij civilian forces.
Esmaili noted that the drills will be conducted simultaneously in 8 provinces of Iran - North Khorasan, Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Sistan & Baluchestan, Kerman, Hormozgan, Yazd and Fars.
A week earlier, Iranian warplanes fired multiple rounds at an unmanned unarmed U.S. surveillance aircraft in international airspace over the Gulf, but the craft was undamaged and returned safely to its base, Pentagon sources said, according to Reuters.
President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta were both advised early on about the unprecedented incident, which occurred at about 4:50 a.m. ET (0850 GMT) on November 1.
Iran was later warned through diplomatic channels the United States would keep conducting surveillance flights in the region and would protect its military assets.
The incident came a year after a CIA drone crashed in Iran - giving the Islamic Republic access to sensitive American technology.