Iran's deputy foreign minister says Tehran has not lost any drone
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Tensions in the Gulf region mounted Thursday after Trump announced that the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, "took defensive action" against the Iranian drone as it was "threatening the safety of the ship and the ship's crew."
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi denied on Friday that Iran had lost a drone in the Strait of Hormuz after US President Donald Trump said that a US Navy ship had "destroyed" an Iranian drone, reported news agency Reuters.
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 by mistake!
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 19, 2019
"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!," Araqchi said on Twitter, referring to a US warship in the strategic waterway.
Tensions in the Gulf region mounted Thursday after Trump announced that the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, "took defensive action" against the Iranian drone as it was "threatening the safety of the ship and the ship's crew."
The drone was "immediately destroyed after it approached within 1,000 yards (914 meters) of the Boxer", Trump said.
"This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran, against vessels operating in international waters," he said.