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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian general said Wednesday that his country's air defenses have warned off several fighter jets and drones during an ongoing military drill.
"In the past three days of military drills, the air defense has given warnings to 12 aircraft of trans-regional countries to stay away from the country's airspace." Gen. Abbas Farajpour was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. Tasnim, which is close to Iran's military, said the aircraft included U.S. fighter jets and drones.
Calls to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, rang unanswered Wednesday. In recent months, the 5th Fleet has complained about interactions with Iran's military at sea and in the air.
Iranian air defense units began an exercise involving 17,000 personnel stationed over 496,000 square kilometers (190,000 square miles) in southern Iran on Monday.
Iran's semi-official Fars news agency said troops taking part in the drill test-fired a long-range S-200 surface-to-air missile, destroying a drone.
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