GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States would not dare violate Iranian soil, the head of the Revolutionary Guards’ aerospace division said on Wednesday, according to the semi-official Mehr news agency.

Tensions have spiked between Iran and the United States after the Islamic Republic shot down a U.S. drone they claim was flying over their territorial waters last Thursday. Washington says the drone was in international airspace.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to obliterate parts of Iran if it attacked “anything American”, but later left the door open for talks.

“Neither America nor any other country would dare violate Iranian soil,” Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency.

The downing of the U.S. drone sent a message to other countries in the region to rely on their own abilities, a senior Iranian parliamentarian said on Wednesday, according to Mehr.

“Destroying the American drone was a very good message for other countries in the region for them to know to find native power by relying on their own national abilities,” said Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy commission in Iran’s parliament.

Iranian military commanders have said the drone was shot down by a missile developed within the Islamic Republic.