Iran on Thursday shot down a U.S. military drone that it claims was flying over Iranian air space in the southern gulf region, further escalating tensions between the two nations.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps website said the "spy" drone was shot down over the southern province of Hormozgan. The Navy, meanwhile, said the drone was flying in international air space over the Strait of Hormuz, a major thoroughfare through which one third of the world’s global oil supply flows.
"Iranian reports that the aircraft was over Iran are false," captain Bill Urban, a U.S. Central Command spokesman, said in a statement. "This was an unprovoked attack on a U.S. surveillance asset in international airspace."
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have continued to escalate since the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 international nuclear accord last year. There have been six explosive attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz since May. While Iranian officials have denied responsibility for the attacks, U.S. intelligence agencies have determined that Iran is the only actor in the region with the capacity to execute the sophisticated operations.
In response to the most recent spate of attacks last week, the Pentagon announced Monday the deployment of 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East atop the 1,500 troops deployed to the region after the tanker attacks in May.
Comments
Post a Comment