The United States will destroy any Iranian drones that fly too closely to its ships and has “clear evidence” that it shot down such a drone on Thursday, a senior Trump administration official said on Friday.
“If they fly too close to our ships, they’ll continue to be shot down,” the official told reporters at a briefing.
Iran on Friday denied President Donald Trump’s claim that a US warship destroyed an Iranian drone near the Arabian Gulf in another escalation of tensions between the two countries less than a month after Trump nearly launched an airstrike.
The Iranian military said all its drones had returned safely to their bases and denied there was any confrontation with a US vessel the previous day.
The country’s Revolutionary Guard said on its website it would release before-and-after images from the drone — it did not say when — to prove it was not destroyed.
“We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else,” tweeted Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Trump on Thursday said the USS Boxer took action after an Iranian drone closed to within 1,000 yards of the warship and ignored commands to stay away. The president accused Iran of “provocative and hostile” action and said the US acted in self-defense.
-
Gibraltar court extends detention of Iran tanker for 30 days
Gibraltar’s Supreme Court ruled on Friday that a seized Iranian tanker suspected of breaching sanctions by shipping oil to Syria can be detained ... Middle East -
Iran military says all its drones have returned safely to base: Report
Iran’s top military spokesman said all the country’s drones had returned safely to base, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported, ... Middle East -
Iran deputy FM: US downed ‘own’ drone ‘by mistake’
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi denied on Friday that Iran had lost a drone in the Strait of Hormuz after the United States said that a ... Middle East -
Iran foreign minister reported to make nuclear offer; US skeptical
Iran on Thursday offered to ratify a document prescribing more intrusive inspections of its nuclear program if the United States abandoned its ... Middle East