Trump gave warning, Iran officials say
But he later changed his mind, the officials said. The decision was first reported by the New York Times.
The commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace division said Friday that Iran had sent “warnings” to the drone before shooting it down. In an interview with Iran’s state-controlled broadcaster, Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh said a final warning was sent at 3:55 a.m. local time Thursday.
“When it did not redirect its route and continued flying toward and into our territory, we had to shoot it at 4:05 a.m.,” he said.
“Our national security is a red line.”
He also said that a U.S. P-8 patrol aircraft, with 35 people on board, had accompanied the drone into Iranian airspace. His claim could not immediately be verified.
“We could have downed it, too,” Hajizadeh said of the plane, the Fars News Agency reported. “But we did not do it.”
A senior U.S. defence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Friday morning that the Pentagon had Navy assets poised to strike in Iran if directed, including ships accompanying the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln. Those attacks could have included air strikes with jets, or — more likely — Tomahawk cruise missiles, the official said.
Among the ships that could have been involved were the guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf and the destroyer USS Bainbridge, the official said. Both vessels can carry Tomahawk missiles.
Iranian state television Friday published images that it said showed pieces of the drone recovered from the debris field. The photographs, which showed large fragments of what appeared to be an aircraft, could not be independently authenticated.
Iranian officials told the Reuters news agency Friday that Tehran received a message from Trump through Oman overnight warning that a U.S. attack was imminent.
“Trump said he was against any war with Iran and wanted to talk to Tehran about various issues,” Reuters quoted one official as saying. “He gave a short period of time to get our response.” The official added that it was up to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to decide whether to respond.
Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations did not immediately reply to request for comment.
The Federal Aviation Administration late Thursday barred U.s.-registered aircraft from operating over the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, due to an increase in military activities and political tensions that it said might “place commercial flights at risk.”
Several U.S. and international carriers said that they had either cancelled flights over Iranian airspace or were taking steps to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.