Iran deputy FM hints US downed 'own' drone 'by mistake'

Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi denied on Friday having lost any drone recently and hinted that the US could have downed their own "by mistake."

Anab Mehdi
Published on: 19 July 2019 7:10 AM GMT
Iran deputy FM hints US downed own drone by mistake
X

Tehran: Iran's deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi denied on Friday having lost any drone recently and hinted that the US could have downed their own "by mistake."

"We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else. I am worried that USS Boxer has shot down their own UAS by mistake!" Araghchi tweeted, after the United States claimed it downed an unmanned Iranian aircraft.

ALSO READ: Kumaraswamy will make his farewell speech Friday: Yeddyurappa

US President Donald Trump said Thursday an American naval vessel downed an Iranian drone that threatened the ship as it was entering the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Trump announced that the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, "took defensive action" against the Iranian aircraft as it was "threatening the safety of the ship and the ship's crew."

ALSO READ: UP Assembly adjourned for 40 mins amid uproar by opposition

The drone was "immediately destroyed" after it approached within 1,000 yards (914 meters) of the Boxer, Trump said.

Tehran's top diplomat, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told reporters Thursday he had "no information about losing a drone today," as he arrived at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

The apparent confrontation between the two foes comes after Tehran last month shot down an American surveillance drone it said was flying in its airspace, a claim denied by the United States.

ALSO READ: India-US relationship on very sound footing: Harsh Vardhan Shringla

Anab Mehdi

Anab Mehdi

Next Story