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Iran Says It Shot Down a U.S. Drone Iran Says It Shot Down a U.S. Drone, Escalating Tensions
(about 3 hours later)
Iran shot down a United States drone after it entered its airspace, state media reported on Thursday, the latest escalation in the tensions between the two countries. Iran said Thursday that it had shot down a United States drone, days after American officials blamed Iran for attacks on international shipping, in the latest escalation in tensions that have raised fears of war between the two countries.
Press TV, a state-run news outlet in Iran, said that what it called a “spy drone” had been shot down in the province of Hormozgan, along the country’s southern coast on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps said it shot down the aircraft at 4:05 a.m., claiming that the drone had entered Iranian airspace to conduct espionage, the semiofficial Mehr News Agency reported.
The United States disputed that account. “No U.S. aircraft were operating in Iranian airspace today,” said Bill Urban, a spokesman for Central Command, news agencies reported, but The Associated Press and Reuters, citing anonymous sources, said the drone had been shot down in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz. Press TV, a state-run news outlet in Iran, also said that the drone had flown over Iranian territory unauthorized, and reported that it had been shot down in the province of Hormozgan, along the country’s southern coast on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
In the context of the recent exchange of threats between Washington and Tehran, a successful Iranian attack on an American aircraft — even an unmanned drone — would mark a significant escalation over other recent clashes that the United States has attributed to Iran. The United States military disputed the accusation that it had violated Iranian airspace, but not the loss of a drone.
Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, addressing the issue at a military ceremony in Sanandaj, Iran, said the drone had been shot down in Iranian airspace. “No U.S. aircraft were operating in Iranian airspace today,” said Bill Urban, a spokesman for Central Command. But The Associated Press and Reuters, citing anonymous American sources, said a drone had been shot down in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz.
“We are not going to get engaged in a war with any country, but we are fully prepared for war,” Mr. Salami said, according to a translation from Press TV. “Today’s incident was a clear sign of this precise message so we are continuing our resistance.” In the context of the recent exchange of threats between Washington and Tehran, an Iranian attack on an American aircraft — even an unmanned drone — adds another potential flash-point to the growing list of recent clashes between Iran and the United States. The other recent attacks that Washington has blamed on Iran have all hit ships operated by other nations, not the United States.
The Revolutionary Guards said in a separate statement that the aircraft was an American-made Global Hawk surveillance drone, according to Press TV. On another front in the complex regional power struggle, Saudi Arabia confirmed a claim by the Houthi faction in Yemen that the rebels had launched another in a series of aerial attacks into Saudi territory. In the war in Yemen, the Houthis, supported by Iran, are fighting a Saudi-led coalition, backed by the United States, that often blames Tehran for the actions of the Houthis.
American officials said last week that Iran had fired a surface-to-air missile at a drone over the Gulf of Oman, on the same day that two oil tankers were attacked. United States officials have blamed Iran for the attacks on the tankers, as well as similar attacks in May against four oil tankers near the United Arab Emirates, a charge that has been strenuously denied in Tehran. Both Saudi Arabia and the Houthis said the group had fired a cruise missile in the Wednesday night attack, a claim that could not be confirmed independently. Saudi military officials said in a statement that the attack was evidence that Iran was providing its Yemeni allies with sophisticated weapons to use against the kingdom.
On Wednesday, United States officials sought to bolster their case that Iran was responsible for the attacks on the two tankers last week, telling journalists at a briefing that fragments recovered from one of the tankers bore a “striking resemblance” to limpet mines used by Iran. The Saudi military statement, reported by the state-owned Al Arabiya network, said the strike had not caused any damage or injuries.
A Navy official also said the investigation had found fingerprints and other valuable information at the scene; earlier, the United States had released video of what it said was an Iranian crew removing a limpet mine from one of the tankers. In Washington, the White House was concerned enough by early reports of the strike that senior officials were summoned Wednesday evening to discuss the matter. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, told news outlets that the president had been briefed on the missile attack and that the administration was monitoring the situation.
President Trump ordered an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East on Monday, as Iran announced that it would violate a central component of a landmark 2015 agreement intended to curb Tehran’s ability to develop a nuclear weapon. Mr. Trump pulled the United States out of the pact last year. Flying a drone into Iranian airspace was an “aggressive and provocative” move by the United States, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, according to Iranian media.
The U.S. had dispatched 1,500 troops to the region in May. Hossein Salami, the commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, said the country’s border was “our red line,” Mehr reported. He said the shooting down the drone was evidence of “how the Iranian nation deals with its enemies.”
“We are not going to get engaged in a war with any country, but we are fully prepared for war,” Mr. Salami said at a military ceremony in Sanandaj, Iran, according to a translation from Press TV. “Today’s incident was a clear sign of this precise message, so we are continuing our resistance.”
The Revolutionary Guards said the aircraft was an RQ-4 Global Hawk, a surveillance drone made by Northrop Grumman.
American officials said last week that Iran had fired a surface-to-air missile at a drone over the Gulf of Oman, on the same day that two tanker ships were attacked. United States officials have blamed Iran for the attacks on the tankers, as well as similar attacks in May against four tankers near the United Arab Emirates, a charge that has been strenuously denied in Tehran.
On Wednesday, United States officials sought to bolster their case that Iran was responsible for the tanker attacks last week, telling journalists at a briefing that fragments recovered from one of the tankers bore a “striking resemblance” to limpet mines used by Iran.
A Navy official also said the investigation had found fingerprints and other valuable information at the scene; earlier, the United States had released video of what it said was an Iranian boat crew removing a limpet mine from one of the tankers.
Last year, Mr. Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 nuclear pact with Iran, over the objections of China, Russia and American allies in Europe. He has also imposed punishing economic sanctions on Iran, trying to cut off its already-limited access to international trade, including oil sales.
Iran has warned of serious consequences if Europe does not find a way around those sanctions, though it has denied involvement in the attacks on tankers near the vital Straits of Hormuz. On Monday, Iran said it would soon stop abiding by a central component of the nuclear deal, the limit on how much enriched uranium it is allowed to stockpile.
Hours after that announcement, President Trump ordered an additional 1,000 troops to the Middle East. The United State had dispatched 1,500 troops and several warships to the region in May.
In Yemen, the Houthis’ television channel reported on Wednesday evening that one of their missiles had hit a water desalination plant in the Saudi city of Jizan, on the Red Sea near the Yemeni border. Saudi officials said the missile had landed near the plant, but did not hit it.
The Houthis have stepped up strikes on Saudi Arabia, which has been accused by international groups of indiscriminate bombing in Yemen, but it is unclear what connection there is between the increase and the regional strife involving Iran. Recently, the Houthis have fired projectiles that damaged a Saudi airport and oil pipelines and caused some injuries.
Jizan, which is also the site of a Saudi military headquarters, has been a frequent target of Houthi attacks with missiles and drones over the course of a war that has become the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia and its partner, the United Arab Emirates, have been fighting for four years in a military intervention in Yemen, seeking to roll back a Houthi takeover of much of the country. The Arab monarchies of the Gulf view Iran as their chief regional rival and consider the fight in Yemen a part of a broader struggle against Iran around the region.