The Middle East region has recently seen a rise in tensions between Tehran and Washington after Iranian air defences downed an American drone, which, as they said, violated the country's borders and didn't respond to warnings.

Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour stated on 10 July that the country's military has developed a new "deep-attack doctrine" designed to conduct offensive operations against enemies and even started exercises based on it during the Payambar-e Azam 12 war games in December last year.

The general further stated that in line with the new doctrine, Iran will be improving not only its military training programmes, but also military equipment, which has received numerous upgrades over the last few years.

"The IRGC Ground Force’s drone and missile power has grown considerably compared to the past, and this will boost our power in battles", Pakpour said.

His comments come amid mounting tensions in the Middle East region between Iran and the US, after the former shot down an American drone flying above the Strait of Hormuz. Despite Washington’s claims that the drone was flying above neutral waters, Tehran presented evidence showing the drone had violated its borders. Iran also said that the aircraft had failed to respond to multiple warnings before being downed.

The downing of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) almost triggered a retaliatory attack from the US, which was stopped minutes prior to starting by US President Donald Trump. He argued that the response would result in numerous casualties and thus he stopped it. Instead, Washington imposed sanctions against the country's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, those close to him, and against IRGC top brass.

CC0 An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft (File)

The tensions initially escalated following the US military build-up in the region, which involved the deployment of additional troops, B-52 bombers, Patriot missiles, and an aircraft carrier strike group. Tehran slammed Washington's actions, arguing that they endanger the region's stability. Both countries warned each other against aggressive moves vowing a response, but, at the same time, stated that they don't seek war with each other.