DIRE STRAIT AS U.S DOWNS DRONE
Don blasts new ‘hostile’ act by Iran
A US Navy ship downed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday after its operators ignored warnings to change course, President Trump said.
The USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, was on a routine patrol when the drone approached within 1,000 yards, Trump said.
“The Boxer took defensive action against an Iranian drone, which had closed into a very, very near distance, approximately 1,000 yards, ignoring multiple calls to stand down, and was threatening the safety of the ship and the ship’s crew. The drone was immediately destroyed,” he said at the White House during a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
“This was the latest of many hostile and provocative actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters.”
CNN reported that the unmanned craft was downed by electronic jamming. It was unclear whether the drone was armed.
The US, Trump added, “calls on all nations to condemn Iran’s attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce.”
Also on Thursday, the US demanded Iran release a foreign vessel its forces seized in the gulf and that it stop harassing vessels in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran had announced earlier that its Revolutionary Guard had seized the vessel, which it said was a small ship smuggling fuel.
“The United States strongly condemns the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy’s continued harassment of vessels and interference with safe passage in and around the Strait of Hormuz,” a State Department representative said in an e-mail to Reuters.
“Iran must cease this illicit activity and release the reportedly seized crew and vessel immediately.”
US Central Command chief Kenneth McKenzie, meanwhile, vowed that America would work “aggressively” to ensure free passage of vessels through the vital oil-shipping waterway.
The vessel’s seizure was the latest in a series of escalating events that have raised fears that the two nations could stumble into war.
The US has blamed Iran for a series of attacks on shipping since mid-May in the world’s most important oil artery. Tehran has rejected the accusations.
And last month, Iran shot down a US military drone, prompting Trump to approve a retaliatory airstrike before calling it off.
The captured ship was believed to be the MT Riah, a Panamanianflagged oil tanker that disappeared off trackers in Iranian territorial waters days ago.
“We do this [inspecting ships] every day,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said. “These are people who smuggle our oil.”