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Iran shoots down US 'spy' drone Donald Trump calls Iran attack on US drone a 'big mistake'
(about 1 hour later)
Iran has shot down an US drone in the strait of Hormuz, accusing Washington of breaching Iran’s national sovereignty and trying to deepen tensions in the region. US security officials have been summoned to the White House to discuss a response to the shooting down of a US spy drone, which Donald Trump has called a “big mistake” by Tehran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday that they had used a surface to air missile to shoot down what they called a US “spy” drone they claimed was flying in the country’s airspace. Iran said it shot down the unmanned aircraft in its airspace. The US military has said it was downed over international waters in the strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command confirmed that one of its unmanned aircraft had been taken down, but said it was in international airspace. A CentCom spokesman, Capt Bill Urban said it was a US navy Global Hawk surveillance drone, which had been downed by an Iranian surface-to-air missile over the Strait of Hormuz at 11.35pm GMT. A meeting of top security officials, including the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Joseph Dunford, convened in the White House on Thursday morning to discuss how to react. As his officials were conferring, Trump tweeted: “Iran made a very big mistake!”
“Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false. This was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset in international airspace,” Urban said. Later the president chaired a meeting with his national security adviser, John Bolton; the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo and the acting defence secretary, Patrick Shanahan. Bolton is reported to be planning to fly to Israel for consultations on the worsening situation.
“Iran made a very big mistake!” Donald Trump tweeted. Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator and close Trump ally says he conferred with the president on Thursday morning and reported that Trump “believes that we’re getting into a bad space, that his options are running out”.
The US military accused Iran last week of firing a missile at another drone that responded to the oil tanker attacks near the Gulf of Oman. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps news website said the drone “was shot down when it entered Iran’s airspace near the Kouhmobarak district in the south,” referring to the area of Iranian coast facing the strait of Hormuz.
Tensions in the Gulf have been heightened since 13 June, when the US accused Iran of attacking two tankers in the the Gulf of Oman with mines. The US military released footage it said showed the Iranian military removing an unexploded mine from the side of one of the tankers. There have also allegedly been Iranian-inspired attacks on US oil and military assets in Iraq, and increasingly sophisticated weaponry being fired into Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels. “The downing of the American drone was a clear message to America ... our borders are Iran’s red line and we will react strongly against any aggression ... Iran is not seeking war with any country, but we are fully prepared to defend Iran,” the Revolutionary Guard commander, Hossein Salami, said, according to Iranian media. Iran has announced its intention to take the matter to the UN security council.
The Iranian state news agency said the downed drone was an RQ-4 Global Hawk. “It was shot down when it entered Iran’s airspace near the Kouhmobarak district in the south,” the Revolutionary Guards’ website added. However, Capt Bill Urban, a spokesman for US Central Command, said: “Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false. This was an unprovoked attack on a US surveillance asset in international airspace.”. He confirmed the downed aircraft was a US navy Global Hawk surveillance drone, which had been hit by an Iranian surface-to-air missile over the strait of Hormuz at 11.35pm GMT.
The $130m (£102m) Global Hawk is the world’s largest surveillance drone, packed with sophisticated electronics and the size of a small commercial airliner. Iranian forces and allied militias had previously fired at and brought down US Reaper drones, but this is the biggest US target Iran has hit to date, as tensions in the region escalate.
Close to the same time as the drone was shot down, Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are backed by Iran, hit a Saudi desalination plant with an apparently sophisticated missile, and there have been a string of rocket and mortar attacks on or close to US facilities in Iraq.
On Wednesday the Pentagon confirmed it was sending an additional 1,000 troops to the Gulf in the wake of two attacks on commercial tankers on 13 June which the US has blamed on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Trump downplayed the tanker attacks as “very minor” but US officials have made clear to Iran that it would view an attack on its forces by Iran or proxy militias as a threshold for a military response.
It is unclear how it will react to an attack on an unmanned – but very large and expensive – aircraft. Asked for comment on the agenda’s of Thursdays meeting a national security council spokesman said: “We don’t comment on internal deliberations.”
Iran said the US drone was shot down by the “3rd Khordad” air defence system, which is an Iranian equivalent to the Russian Buk system that downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. The use of such weapons in an area of crowded skies has underlined the dangers of the standoff in the Gulf spinning out of control.
The secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, Ali Shamkhani, had said on Wednesday that Tehran would respond to any intrusion into its airspace or waters.The secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, Ali Shamkhani, had said on Wednesday that Tehran would respond to any intrusion into its airspace or waters.
Shamkhani emphasised that Iran robustly protects its aerial and maritime borders, describing its airspace as the country’s “red line”. “No matter whose plane trespasses into it, we have always given and will give a harsh response to intruders.”Shamkhani emphasised that Iran robustly protects its aerial and maritime borders, describing its airspace as the country’s “red line”. “No matter whose plane trespasses into it, we have always given and will give a harsh response to intruders.”
The Iran crisis was created in Washington. The US must be talked down | Simon TisdallThe Iran crisis was created in Washington. The US must be talked down | Simon Tisdall
He insisted Iran was the guarantor of security in the Gulf and strait of Hormuz. Speaking in London, the Saudi foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said: “The international community is determined to push back against Iran’s aggressive behaviour”.
The chairman of the Iranian parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, urged the Iranian government to file a complaint to the United Nations on the alleged US drone intrusion into its territory. He said: “US drone intrusion to the Iranian airspace is clear violation of the UN charter and national sovereignty of the country.” Saying steps were being prepared to protect shipping in the Gulf, he added: “Freedom of navigation is essential to global security and the world economy. Any attempt to close the strait of Hormuz will provoke a very strong reaction.”
Both Washington and Tehran insist they are intent on avoiding a war as tensions build over the consequences of the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, but fears that an accidental chain of events will lead to escalation and finally a military confrontation are growing. As US and Iranian forces face off in the Gulf, another potential flashpoint for conflict is drawing closer. Iran has set a deadline of 27 June by which it will breach limits on uranium stockpiles set out in the nuclear deal, a development likely to lead to renewed US demands that the EU states France, Germany and Britain join the US in pulling out of the deal.
The shooting down of the drone came as the US president, Donald Trump, was briefed on the details of a separate incident: a further missile strike in Saudi Arabia that appeared to come from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. Iran says it is gradually suspending its adherence to the deal in response to the economic stranglehold being imposed on the country by US sanctions. It has warned it will raise the level at which it enriches uranium on 8 July, which would be a much more significant step as it would considerably shorten the amount of time Iran would need to build a warhead if it were to decide to make a nuclear weapon.
The White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, said on Wednesday in relation to the Saudi missile strike: “We are closely monitoring the situation and continuing to consult with our partners and allies.”
Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, who ousted the internationally recognised Saudi-backed government in late 2014, have stepped up missile and drone attacks on Saudi civilian, military and oil installations in the past two weeks. Saudi Arabia claims Iranian experts are advising the Houthis.
The US has deployed an aircraft carrier to the Middle East in recent weeks and added additional troops to the tens of thousands already in the region.
Iran has set a deadline of 27 June by which it will breach limits on uranium stockpiles set out in the nuclear deal, a development likely to lead to renewed US demands that the EU states France, Germany and Britain join the US in pulling out of the deal. Iran says it is gradually suspending its adherence to the deal in response to the economic stranglehold being imposed on the country by US sanctions.
A meeting of the joint commission that oversees the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is due to meet on 28 June in Vienna – bringing together Iran, the three EU states, China, as well as Russia. The EU will urge Iran not to take further steps to pull out of the deal, and may put Iran’s actions into the JCPOA’s lengthy dispute mechanism.A meeting of the joint commission that oversees the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is due to meet on 28 June in Vienna – bringing together Iran, the three EU states, China, as well as Russia. The EU will urge Iran not to take further steps to pull out of the deal, and may put Iran’s actions into the JCPOA’s lengthy dispute mechanism.
IranIran
US militaryUS military
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
Middle East and North AfricaMiddle East and North Africa
Donald TrumpDonald Trump
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