Reacting to Trump's claims, Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia said, "This is a false claim. We are present in the region and we control the region."
He said the Iranian Navy is deployed in the Sea of Oman, the Arabian Sea and the northern Indian Ocean, controlling those waters and preventing U.S. vessels from approaching Iranian coasts. "The fact that American vessels are currently at a very great distance from our coasts shows our power and strength. If, as Trump claims, our Navy had been destroyed, the enemy would have approached our coasts, but now it does not dare to do so," he said.
On U.S. rhetoric about rescuing its pilot deep inside Iran and the interview given by an American pilot, Akraminia said Western and American media had also reported that these pilots were asked to appear before cameras and make these statements. "Obviously their statements are far from reality. The Americans are trying to create and show off a legend of their invincibility, just as they show in Hollywood films. These interviews and claims are in the same vein."
On the events at Dasht-e Mahyar, which he said caused U.S. frustration and led to its lying, Akraminia said, "A major operation had been planned by America in that area, but it failed. They were forced to bomb and destroy several of their own aircraft and helicopters. In fact, a great scandal, like the scandal Carter suffered at Tabas, was repeated. Now, to cover up this great scandal, they are trying to remove this defeat from minds and build a legend of victory."
He concluded with a message for the United States and Trump: "If they again make a miscalculation and commit a new aggression, they will be targeted more decisively, more broadly and more strongly than before, and will be forced to endure a heavy defeat."
MNA