Iran downs ‘foreign’ drone over Persian Gulf port
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iran says it shot down a foreign drone that entered its airspace in the southern province of Khuzestan, less than five months after destroying a US Navy surveillance aircraft during heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf.
"Today one drone has entered our airspace at Mahshahr,” said Alireza Sabahifard, commander of the Iranian army’s air defence, reported Tasnim, a news agency close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
The drone was destroyed before it could reach a “sensitive location,” he added. "It was a decisive act of firing missiles in response to a foreign violation of our airspace.”
"Many times we stated that our air defence network is fully ready to respond to any violation or threat to our country,” Sabahifard said, without identifying the provenance of the drone.
Wreckage of the drone was found near the port town of Bandar-Mahshahr, according to provincial governor Gholamreza Shariati.
Security forces are now investigating the wreckage.
The United States said the drone is not one of theirs. “Alleged reports of a U.S. drone being shot down are incorrect," US Central Command (CENTCOM) tweeted. If a drone was shot down within CENTCOM's operations area in the Middle East, it was not American, it added. "All U.S. equipment has been accounted for."
In June, Iran shot down a US Navy surveillance drone that it said had violated Iranian airspace in the Persian Gulf. The navy denied the aircraft had entered Iranian airspace and described the incident as an unprovoked attack.
US President Donald Trump called off a retaliatory airstrike because it could have resulted in as many 150 casualties, arguing this would have been a disproportionate act. The US instead carried out a cyberattack on Iran.
Tensions between Iran and the United States have steadily climbed since Trump pulled out of the nuclear agreement in May 2018, calling it a terrible deal and accusing Iran of destabilizing the region and supporting terrorism. The dispute has raised fears about the security of the shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil tanker traffic.
The US has increased its military presence in the region in order to protect navigation in the Gulf and global oil supplies.
This week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Iran could be on the verge of a “rapid nuclear breakout,” after Tehran took a fourth step back from the nuclear deal.
Tehran, seeking financial support from Europe to ease the economic damage from crippling US sanctions, has said it will return to full compliance with the landmark agreement if its demands are met.
“All of the steps Iran has taken to reduce its commitments to the nuclear deal are reversible and Iran will uphold all of its commitments under the deal when the remaining signatories – France, Britain, Germany, Russia, and China – do the same,” said President Hassan Rouhani.
Updated at 6:22 pm