President Trump says US Navy ship destroys Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By ELIZABETH MCLAUGHLIN and BEN GITTLESON - ABC News




President Donald Trump said that the U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship USS Boxer destroys an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz that was "threatening the safety of the ship and the ship's crew."

"The Boxer took defense action against the drone which had closed into a very close distance, approximately a thousand yards, ignoring multiple calls to stand down and was threatening the safety of the ship and the ship's crew," Trump said on Thursday. "The drone was immediately destroyed."

"This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters," he continued. "The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, facilities, and interests, and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran's attempt to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce. I also call on other nations to protect their ships as they go through the Straight of Hormuz and to work with us in the future."

On Thursday, the Boxer transited through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway where one fifth of the world's oil passes.

It was over this waterway where the U.S. said Iran shot down an American drone last month. The U.S. has also blamed Iran for a June attack on two commercial tankers sailing in international waters in the Gulf of Oman.

U.S. officials have been urging allies to join a maritime security initiative to protect the Strait of Hormuz, following these attacks.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

via PCS

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[lost in melb.]

[perrhaps]

Gee, couldn't we have just sent it back?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Bradford Betz | Fox News




Iran on Friday denied President Trump's claim that a U.S. warship destroyed an Iranian drone near the Persian Gulf after it threatened the ship — an incident that further escalated tensions between the countries.

Trump said Thursday that the USS Boxer – which is among several U.S. Navy ships in the area – took defensive action after an Iranian drone came within 1,000 yards of the warship and ignored multiple calls to stand down.

Trump blamed Iran for a "provocative and hostile" action and said the U.S. responded in self-defense. But Iran's foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, told reporters as he arrived for a meeting at the United Nations that "we have no information about losing a drone today."

The Iranian military said all its drones had returned safely to their bases and denied there was any confrontation with a U.S. vessel.

"We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else," tweeted Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

The strait is at the mouth of the Persian Gulf and serves as the passageway for a fifth of all global crude exports.

The Pentagon said Thursday's incident happened at 10 a.m. local time in international waters while the Boxer was transiting the waterway to enter the Persian Gulf.

The Iranians and Americans have had close encounters in the Strait of Hormuz in the past, and it's not unprecedented for Iran to fly a drone near a U.S. warship.

Thursday's incident was the latest in a series of events that raised U.S.-Iran tensions since early May when Washington accused Tehran of threatening U.S. forces and interests in Iraq and in the Gulf.

In response, the U.S. accelerated the deployment of the Lincoln and its strike group to the Arabian Sea and deployed four B-52 long-range bombers to the Gulf state of Qatar. It has since deployed additional Patriot air defense missile batteries in the Gulf region.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.