A senior Iranian military commander said Sunday that Iran would never be the initiator of any war, the local satellite Press TV reported.

However, Iran's response to any threat or aggression will be crushing, said Brigadier General Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' (IRGC) ground forces.

IRGC announced Saturday the start of the "Hamiane Velayat" ( supporters of Velayat) military drills in southern Iran.

There were no reports on the accurate location and duration of the drills. However, Iran has said that its exercises in the southern waters or near the area are aimed at maintaining readiness to confront threats in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, an important passage for the oil tankers.

Pakpour said the main purpose of IRGC's ongoing military exercises was to improve the combat preparedness of Iranian forces to prevent military invasion, according to the report.

Deputy head of IRGC, Hossein Salami, said Sunday that Iran would attack any location where attacks against Iran were initiated, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

Salami told Fars that "Any location which is used by the enemy for raids against the Islamic republic will be targeted by the IRGC forces."

Also, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said that Tehran was preparing itself to counter all the Western plans aimed at mounting pressure on the Islamic republic.

"Tehran is examining even the worst-case scenarios and preparing itself to counteract them," Salehi was quoted by Press TV as saying.

Tehran has also threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if the West impose embargo on its oil exports.