A top Iranian military official has dismissed a proposed bill at US Congress to strengthen measures against Tehran’s growing drone program as ineffective.

General Rasul Sanairad, the political deputy to the chief commander of Iranian armed forces told Mehr news agency on Wednesday that all previous sanctions on Iran have not worked and the Islamic Republic has been able to make substantial progress in developing weapons systems.

A bi-partisan group of lawmakers in the US House of Representatives presented a bill on December 1 to restrict proliferation of Iran's military drones. The lawmakers behind the proposed legislation, the Stop Iranian Drones Act (SIDA), say it clarifies that US sanctions on Iran’s conventional weapons program under CAATSA (The Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) include the supply, sale or transfer to or from Iran of drones.

Sanairad who represents of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei insisted that Iran’s weapons are not a threat to neighboring countries. Recent reports have said that Israel and others are concerned over the fast-growing capabilities of Iranian military drones, in addition to its ballistic missiles.

Sanairad went on to accuse Israel of endangering security in the region and threatening safety of navigation. He also questioned the US military’s “illogical” presence in the region.