Before Vahidi confirmed the action, another Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Seyed Masoud Jazaeri, commented on the reports of the incident.

"The armed forces will respond decisively to any act of transgression," he said, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.

"If any foreign planes try to enter our country's space, our armed forces will confront it," he was quoted as saying. "The defenders of the Islamic republic will give a decisive response to navy air, land or naval attacks."