The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps� (IRGC) second-in-command says the US should learn from its recent mistakes, or face the consequences.

�The Americans should learn from recent historical truths,� said Brigadier General Hossein Salami during a televised broadcast on Tuesday, referring to the recent arrest of 10 US sailors after drifting into the country's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf.

Salami noted that the arrests prove �the fact that we have developed a powerful Navy in the IRGC and the Armed Forces, capable of defending the country�s interests and independence.�
The top commander noted that Iran will not give in to �restrictions from any power in the world� in conducting military drills, emphasizing that it is Iran�s �legal right� to hold military exercises according to its strategic plans.
Based on the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982, Iran will �decisively confront� any menacing passage through the Strait of Hormuz, he added.

Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari has said that the Navy plans to hold at least 20 special military exercises by March 2017.

His comments followed earlier remarks by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei who stressed Iran�s presence in the Persian Gulf.

�The Persian Gulf coast and much of the coasts of the Sea of Oman belong to this powerful [Iranian] nation, therefore we have to be present in this region, [stage] maneuvers and show off our power,� the Leader said on Monday addressing a group of teachers.

Ayatollah Khamenei also rebuffed the US government�s demands that Iran should not hold military drills in the Persian Gulf.

�It is the Americans who should explain why they have come here from that corner of the world to mount exercises,� the Leader said, adding that the US should go to the Bay of Pigs, in reference to a failed US military operation in 1961 when Cuba captured over 1,100 members of a CIA-backed militia.

By Press TV