Iran denies Donald Trump claim that US destroyed drone in strait of Hormuz

[DonViejo]

Source: The Guardian

US president says USS Boxer took ‘defensive action’ against unmanned aircraft amid heightened tensions between countries

Julian Borger in New York

Fri 19 Jul 2019 07.30 BST

-snip-

The drone incident was first revealed by Donald Trump, who said that USS Boxer took defensive action after the unmanned vehicle came within 1,000 yards of the warship and ignored multiple calls to stand down.

-snip-

However, Iran denied Trump’s claims. The deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, tweeted: “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 [unmanned aerial system] by mistake!”

The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted a military spokesman, Gen Abolfazl Shekari, as saying that “all Iranian drones that are in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz[…] have returned to their bases”.

The contradictory claims came as Gibraltar’s supreme court extended the detention of the Iranian ship Grace 1 for 30 days, in a move that suggests talks between Iran and the UK over the terms of the ship’s release are not progressing.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/18/trump-us-warship-iran-drone-strait-of-hormuz

[Scarsdale]

1. Bolton, Pompeo and others

are itching for a war with Iran. I believe Iranian officials over this administration any day of the week. This so-called president has no credibility, absolutely NONE. Keep in mind, he is the cream of the gop crop. They have nobody else who can represent their party like this liar in chief.

[denvine]

3. Totally agree!

[pandr32]

6. 100% agreed

[raccoon]

10. You sure got that right. Nt

[machoneman]

2. O.K. then if we did, it was over water and pieces would have been recovered. If it...

was a small drone, we likely missed and it did return to land. So. which is it? Proof?

I smell Pompeo's oily work here.

[Pobeka]

4. How easy for Russia would bait us into a war with Iran...

Fly a drone over a US Navy ship, with Iran symbols on it.

... another possibility.

[kimbutgar]

5. I don't believe anything that comes out of this administration

Lying and suppressing information is the hallmark of these cretins

[MarcA]

7. Persian Gulf, Iran, U.S. Look at a map.

How did our oil get under their ground. The boltons, pampeos, bushes,
cheneys et al have an answer $$$.

[Maxheader]

8. I am worried that USS Boxer has shot down their own UAS [unmanned aerial system] by mistake!"

There go a few million tax dollars..

Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton
MQ-4C Triton
Primary users United States Navy Royal Australian Air Force
Number built 68 (planned) + 2 prototypes
Program cost US$12.7665B (as of FY15)
Unit cost US$120.689m (FY15) US$182.378m (inc R&D)

[Sapient Donkey]

11. It's unlikely that they shot down their own drone...

It's more likely Iran knows one of their RC planes were shot down, rouge groups inside Iran were acting on their own and it got shot down, or maybe even some external forces like Saudi Arabia are trying to provoke something (that seems like a stretch without more evidence, though)

[raccoon]

9. Has any other country Weighed in on this?

Or is it just another false flag operation?