‘You Shot Down Your Own Drone’ Says Iran After Donald Trump Claims Shooting Down Iranian Aircraft In Strait Of Hormuz

Iran has said that it has not lost any drones after US President Donald Trump’s claim of the US Navy having shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reports.

Tensions have again escalated in the Gulf region following the incident with the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi suggesting that the US might have accidentally shot down one of its own aircraft.

“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 (drone) by mistake!,” he said.

The US President had earlier announced that the US amphibious assault ship had undertaken defensive action as a drone approached within 1000 yards of the ship.

"This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran, against vessels operating in international waters. The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, our facilities and interests and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran's attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce,” Trump had said.

The latest incident comes at the back of another drone downing earlier which Iran claimed had trespassed into its territory. The US had contested the claim saying that the drone was attacked in international waters instead.

Trump, however, had then claimed to have stopped retaliatory airstrikes against Iran as they would’ve dealt damage disproportionate to the Iranian action.