TEHRAN – Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, says the shooting down of a U.S. spy drone by the Islamic Republic carried a “very good message” to regional countries.

Boroujerdi said on Wednesday that regional countries should note the significance of relying on their own capabilities and power, the Mehr news agency reported. 

“Six years ago, our armed forces managed to bring down a U.S. RQ7 drone safely to the ground and reverse engineer it. Today, they once again showed off their power to the U.S. by downing their super-advanced drone,” he maintained.

“The U.S. needs to know that Iran is not like any other country in the region, and it will never be able to overcome Iran’s power, because we have made great advances in attaining new technologies and the U.S. cannot violate our territories even with its super modern drones,” the senior MP added.

In a statement issued last Thursday, the IRGC said the U.S.-made Global Hawk surveillance drone was brought down by its Air Force near the Kouh-e Mobarak region — which sits in the central district of Jask County — after the aircraft violated Iranian airspace.

According to the statement, the Global Hawk had flown from one of the American bases in the southern parts of the Persian Gulf region at 00:14 a.m. local time, with its identification transponders off in breach of all international aviation rules.

It also went on to say that the drone had stealthily continued on the route from the Strait of Hormuz towards Iran’s port city of Chabahar.

While returning towards west of the Strait of Hormuz, the drone violated Iran’s territorial airspace and began gathering intelligence and spying, the statement said.

The RQ-4A drone had been targeted and shot down by the IRGC at 04: 05 a.m. local time, it added.

MH/PA