US destroyed Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz, says Trump

President Donald Trump has said the US Navy destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz.

He said the USS Boxer amphibious assault ship “took defensive action” on Thursday after the drone came within about 1,000 yards (914m) of the vessel.

Iran said it had no information about losing a drone. In June, Iran downed a US military drone in the area.

Earlier, Tehran said it had seized a “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, Mr 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.

Mr 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 organised 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.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Gulf crisis: US confirms drone was shot down by Iranian missile

A US military surveillance drone has been shot down by Iranian forces while flying over the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said the drone had violated Iranian airspace. But US military said it had been over international waters.

IRGC commander-in-chief Maj-Gen Hossein Salami said the downing of the drone sent a “clear message to America” that Iran’s borders were its “red line”.

It comes at a time of escalating tension between the US and Iran.

On Monday, the US defence department said it was deploying 1,000 extra troops to the region in response to “hostile behaviour” by Iranian forces.

The US has also accused Iran of attacking two oil tankers with mines last Thursday just outside the Strait of Hormuz, in the Gulf of Oman. Iran rejects the allegation.

It was the second time in a month tankers have been attacked close in the region, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes each day.

Tensions were further fuelled on Monday when Iran announced its stockpile of low-enriched uranium would next week exceed limits it agreed with world powers under a landmark nuclear deal in 2015.

Iran stepped up its production in response to tightening economic sanctions from the US, which unilaterally withdrew from the deal last year.

What happened on Thursday?

The IRGC said its air force shot down the US drone in the early hours of Thursday after the unmanned aircraft violated Iranian airspace near Kuhmobarak in the southern province of Hormozgan.

The drone was identified by the IRGC as a RQ-4 Global Hawk, but the US military official told Reuters news agency the drone was a US Navy MQ-4C Triton, a maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft based on the RQ-4B Global Hawk.

Later, in a speech carried live on Iranian state TV, Gen Salami warned the US that it needed to respect Iran’s territorial integrity and national security.

“The downing of the American drone was a clear message to America… our borders are our red line and we will react strongly against any aggression.”

He added: “Iran is not seeking war with any country, but we are fully prepared to defend Iran.”

Is this the first time Iran has targeted a US drone?

Last week, the US military accused Iran of attempting to shoot down a US MQ-9 Reaper armed drone with a surface-to-air missile in an attempt to disrupt surveillance of one of the tankers that was attacked, the Kokuka Courageous.

The drone had earlier observed a fire on board the other tanker, the Front Altair.

The previous week, another US MQ-9 Reaper was shot down over Yemen by a surface-to-air missile fired by the Iran-backed rebel Houthi movement.

The US military said the altitude of the engagement “indicated an improvement over previous Houthi capability, which we assess was enabled by Iranian assistance”. Iran denies providing weapons to the Houthis.

In 2011, Iran said it had captured a US RQ-170 Sentinel reconnaissance drone that had been reported lost by US forces in neighbouring Afghanistan. It developed its own version of the drone, one of which was shot down by Israel last year.

Source: bbc.co.uk

Malaysia, Indonesia To Receive Six ScanEagle 2 UAS Each From Washington

Malaysia will receive six ScanEagle 2 Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) later this year while Indonesia will receive an equal number in 2022 under the United States funded Maritime Security Initiative (MSI).

US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Randall Schriver said during a media round-table in Kuala Lumpur last week that the Philippines had received six ScanEagle 2 UAS in 2018 as part of the MSI policy.

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Source: defenseworld.net