Iran has warned of the consequences of a recent provocative act of incursion by an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) into its airspace, stressing that the Islamic Republic reserves every right to take whatever action necessary to defend its territory.
In a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UN Security Council President Mark Lyall Grant and President of the UN General Assembly John Ashe, Iranian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Gholam Hossein Dehqani condemned the Israeli intrusion into Iran’s airspace.
The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to take any defensive measure to protect its territory and warns that such provocative acts will have serious repercussions for the aggressor, he said.
The recent intrusion into Iran’s airspace by an Israeli drone constituted a “blatant violation of the territorial integrity and national sovereignty” of the Islamic Republic and “contravened the principles of international law and the contents of the UN Charter,” the Iranian envoy underscored.
He described the violation as a threat to regional peace and stability, urging the international community, especially the UN Security Council, to condemn the act of aggression.
In a statement on Sunday, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that its forces had intercepted and shot down an Israeli spy drone with a surface-to-air missile. The Israeli-made Hermes drone was heading to Natanz nuclear facility in the central Iranian province of Isfahan.
On the same day the UAV was brought down, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan warned that the Islamic Republic would give a crushing response to any enemy aggression against Iranian soil.
