TEHRAN – Commander of Khatam ol-Anbia Central Headquarters has warned that the United States would pay a high price if a war erupts in the region.

“America’s interventionist measures as well as the provocative acts by some of its regional allies, including the Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia, are threatening regional peace and stability,” Major General Gholam Ali Rashid said on Tuesday, Mehr reported.

“The U.S. will end up paying dearly if a war erupts in the region,” said Rashid during a visit to one of the IRGC’s air defense bases in Isfahan Province.

Iran is not in favor of war but is ready to defend the nation’s interests in the face of any threat and aggression, he added.

According to Rashid, the shooting down of a U.S. Global Hawk spy drone in the Iranian airspace was a clear example of Iran’s courageous defense.

Tensions between Iran and the United States reached a record high after a U.S. spy drone violated Iran’s airspace on Thursday and ignored Iran’s warnings before being targeted by the IRGC’s air defense system.

The IRGC said the drone was brought down over Iran’s southern coastal province of Hormozgan.

The Guards, however, spared a second spy plane carrying 35 people, for which U.S. President Donald Trump thanked Iran.

MH/PA