Iran says it has shot down a US spy drone

Iran says it has shot down a US drone as tensions rise between the two countries.

Tehran’s state-run IRNA news agency claims the Revolutionary Guard shot down the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned plane when it entered Iranian airspace near the Kouhmobarak district in the southern Hormozgan province. The BBC says the area is “a key route for global oil supplies”.

The RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude aircraft with an integrated sensor suite to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, according to the New York Post.

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Captain Bill Urban, a US Central Command spokesman, declined to comment directly when asked about the claim. However, he told the Associated Press: “There was no drone over Iranian territory.”

The news comes days after Washington announced it was sending 1,000 troops to the Middle East in response to what it described as “hostile behaviour” by Tehran’s forces. The US accuses Iran of attacking two tankers in the Gulf of Oman with mines. Tehran denies involvement.

Last week, the US military alleged Iran fired a missile at another drone that responded to the attack on the two oil tankers.

The Washington Post says recent events have sparked fears that a “miscalculation or further rise in tensions could push the U.S. and Iran into an open conflict, some 40 years after Tehran’s Islamic Revolution”.

Tensions will be inflamed further by news that US President Donald Trump has been briefed on a missile strike in Saudi Arabia that appeared to come from Yemen. Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen have escalated missile and drone attacks on Saudi cities in recent weeks.

The outgoing White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: “We are closely monitoring the situation and continuing to consult with our partners and allies.”