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19 July, 2019
TEHRAN/ WASHINGTON: A senior spokesman for the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces vehemently dismissed US President Donald Trump’s claim about the downing of an Iranian drone over the Strait of Hormuz, saying such claims are rooted in Trump’s illusions.
“Contrary to the false claim rooted in Trump’s illusions, all Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz…, have returned safely to their bases after completing their scheduled reconnaissance and patrol missions,” Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said in a statement on Friday.
The top general added that no report has been received on a counter operation by the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship.
He further described Trump’s unfounded claim as part of his efforts to increase tensions and insecurity in the Persian Gulf region and the strategic Hormuz Strait.
Trump claimed on Thursday that the USS Boxer destroyed an Iranian drone after the aircraft threatened the ship by flying to within 1,000 meters of it and ignored multiple calls to stand down.
Later, the Pentagon said in a statement that the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, had taken “defensive action” against a drone, but did not mention whether the aircraft was Iranian.
The chief Pentagon spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said in a written statement: “A fixed-wing unmanned aerial system approached Boxer and closed within a threatening range. The ship took defensive action against the UAS to ensure the safety of the ship and its crew.”
The statement also omitted any reference to how the drone was brought down, but CNN reported it was done by electronic jamming, rather than gunfire.
The remarks came against the backdrop of increased tensions between Iran and the US after the Islamic Republic shot down an advanced US spy drone over its territorial waters.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said on June 20 that a US spy drone that violated the Iranian territorial airspace in the early hours of the day was shot down by the IRGC Aerospace Force’s air defense unit near the Kooh-e-Mobarak region in the southern province of Hormozgan.
The intruding drone was reportedly shot by Iran’s homegrown air defense missile system “Khordad-3rd”.
Later on the same day, US President Donald Trump said he had called off a retaliatory attack on a number of targets in Iran and said that he was ready to speak with Iranian leaders and come to an understanding that would allow the country to improve its economic prospects. “What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like to see them call me.”
“I look forward to the day where we can actually help Iran. We’re not looking to hurt Iran,” Trump added.
However, on June 24 Trump announced new sanctions against top Iranian officials, including the office of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Iran’s foreign minister, and senior commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
According to the American and Western media the US Navy destroyed an Iranian drone on Thursday after it refused to back down, President Donald Trump says.
He said the USS Boxer downed the drone over the Strait of Hormuz – a strategic sea passage in the Gulf – after it came within 1,000 yards (914m) of the ship.
Iran said it had no information about losing a drone. In June, Iran shot down a US military drone in the area.
Earlier, Tehran said it had seized “foreign tanker” and its 12 crew on Sunday for smuggling fuel in the Gulf.
Iran has been blamed by the US for attacks on tankers which have happened in the world’s key shipping area since May. Tehran denies all the accusations.
The recent incidents have triggered fears of a military conflict in the region.
What have the US and Iran said about the incident?
Speaking at the White House, Trump said: “I want to apprise everyone of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz today involving USS Boxer, a navy amphibious assault ship.
“The Boxer took defensive action against an Iranian drone which had closed into a very, very near distance, approximately 1,000 yards (914m), ignoring multiple calls to stand down and was threatening the safety of the ship and the ship’s crew. The drone was immediately destroyed.
“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, facilities and interests.”
A Defence Department official quoted by the New York Times said the drone had been brought down using electronic jamming equipment.
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official dismissed the US statement. In an English tweet posted on 19 July, Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi even suggested the US may have downed its own drone by mistake.
Araqchi’s comment came after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in New York on Thursday that “we have no information about losing a drone today”.
What about the seized oil tanker?
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ Sepah News site said on Thursday that an alleged fuel-smuggling ship was seized on Sunday during naval patrols aimed at “discovering and confronting organized smuggling”.
Iran’s state media quoted the Guards as saying the vessel had been smuggling one million litres (220,000 gallons) of fuel.
The state media later published footage of Iranian speedboats circling around the Panamanian-flagged Riah tanker.
The vessel was seized south of Iran’s Larak Island, Iran said. Washington called on Iran to immediately release the ship.
What’s the background to this?
Tensions have been high in the Gulf since the US tightened the sanctions that it reimposed on Iran’s oil sector after unilaterally withdrawing from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
The US has blamed Iran for two separate attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman in May and June – an allegation Tehran has denied.
Iran also shot down a US surveillance drone over the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran said the aircraft had violated Iranian airspace, and that the incident sent a “clear message to America”.
The US military said the drone had been over international waters at the time, and condemned what it called an “unprovoked attack”.
UK warships have meanwhile been shadowing British oil tankers in the area since Iran threatened to seize one in response to the impounding of an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar.
The UK said the tanker was suspected of breaching EU sanctions against Syria. Iran denied it was en route there.
US Central Command Chief General Kenneth McKenzie, speaking on a visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, said he was working “aggressively” to find a solution to free passage for ships through the Gulf region, Reuters News Agency reports. (Monitored and researched by SJA Jafri)
