This is the latest in a series of recent altercations between the US and Iran. The Pentagon claims its ships have been intercepted by Iranian vessels on at least 31 separate occasions since January.
Earlier this year, two US Navy patrol vessels drifted into Iranian waters in the Persian Gulf. Crewmembers were apprehended by the Revolutionary Guard in an incident that nearly sparked an international crisis in the midst of the Iran nuclear negotiations.
Emad Abshenass, editor-in-chief of the Iran Press newspaper, told Sputnik that the US uses all means available to spy on Iran and to assess the country’s defensive capabilities.
"Ever since the historical nuclear deal has been signed, the US keeps using the most sophisticated methods to provoke a harsh reaction out of Iran. They seek to determine how the Islamic Republic would react to different provocations and challenges, and to determine whether Iran gave up the 'Resistance and Opposition to the US' tactic," he explained.
According to Abshenass, the goal of US forces is to determine Iran’s readiness for military engagements and to gauge the country’s ability to detect airborne intruders.
However, the Iranian military is well aware of these intentions and reacts accordingly. He also pointed out that when Iran’s security is at stake, the Iranian military doesn’t care about the nuclear deal, especially when an illegal violation of the nation’s aerial or maritime borders takes place.
"As for the reports made by American media, when some US military officials claim that a warning issued by Iranian forces to a US crew is "unprofessional behavior," let’s consider the opposite situation. Imagine that, for example, Russian or Iranian aircraft conduct a similar maneuver in US airspace. Would the US military be content to passively observe such behavior? That would be a good way to determine whose behavior is professional and whose is not," he declared.
Abshenass also remarked that the US is willing to get its results at any cost, and is ready to sacrifice their hardware, and possibly even personnel, if it would help them to complete their objectives.
"An incident has already occurred when US spy drones intruded into Iranian airspace. The Iranian security forces were able to down and capture them intact in order to make copies of these drones – copies that turned out to be – in terms of technical characteristics – perhaps even better than the US originals. President Obama himself asked Iran to return all of the US drones’ remains. However, Iran refused to do so, and even presented one of the copies to its Russian allies," he said.
All in all, Abshenass surmised, Iran continues to upgrade its electronic security and early warning systems, and Iranian air defense forces stand ready to neutralize and destroy any enemy target that might attempt to violate the country’s airspace.
