IRAN DOWNS UNKNOWN FLYING OBJECT

Tehran, Nov. 8: The Iranian army shot down an unidentified drone near the port of Bandare Mahshahr on the Gulf coast on Friday, ISNA news agency reported.

The unmanned aircraft was downed over Iranian territory with a domestically manufactured Mersad surface-toair missile, said Tasnim.

The incident which comes amid soaring tensions between Tehran and Washington since President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned a landmark 2015 nuclear deal last year and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Trump in June authorised a military strike after Iran shot down a US drone, only to call off the retaliation at the last moment.

Washington insists the aircraft was in international airspace, but Iran says it was over its territorial waters.

The crisis deepened with the September 14 attacks on Saudi energy giant Aramco’s Abqaiq processing plant and Khurais oilfield which halved the kingdom’s crude output.