Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the country's ideological army, announced on Wednesday that it shot down a Hermes 900 drone in the city of Lar (in the south of the country), denouncing a violation of the agreed ceasefire and warned of a strong response to other violations, reports EFE, according to Agerpres.
“An advanced Hermes 900 drone was detected, intercepted and destroyed in the airspace above the city of Lar in Fars province by the fire of a modern anti-aircraft defense system of the Revolutionary Guards,” this elite military body informed, according to the Tasnim agency.
The Revolutionary Guards warned that the entry of any “enemy” aircraft – referring to the United States and Israel – into the country's airspace, even without conducting offensive operations, would constitute a violation of the ceasefire and “will receive a firm and strong response”.
Iran reported an attack on the oil refinery in Lavan Island, located in the Persian Gulf, during the morning.
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The alleged attack came hours after a two-week ceasefire between Iran and the US came into effect at dawn on Wednesday (Iran time).
Tehran and Washington also agreed to start talks in Islamabad on Friday to end the war that began on February 28.
During the conflict, the United States and Israel bombed military, nuclear, and energy facilities as well as civilian sites such as hospitals and universities on a daily basis in Iran, which responded with attacks on US interests in the region and neighboring countries and by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that his administration believes that the regime in Tehran has been “changed” and that the US will work “closely” with the Iranian leadership.
The country's ideological army said on Wednesday it had “no confidence” in the promises of the United States and said it would respond to any American or Israeli aggression during the truce.
At the same time, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday evoked “violations of the cease-fire” by Israel in Lebanon, during a telephone conversation with the commander of the armed forces of Pakistan, the country mediating the fragile truce between the US and Iran, according to a statement, quoted by AFP. Israel had declared at the outset that it would not bomb Iranian targets, but emphasized that it would attack positions of the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Abbas Araghchi and Pakistan's powerful army chief Marshal Asim Munir “stressed the importance (…) of implementing the points of the agreement” between the two countries to “consolidate peace and security in the region,” the document also said.
