Iran reportedly threatened to shoot down 2 U.S. Navy planes near the Persian Gulf

On Saturday, Iran threatened to shoot down two U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft flying near Iranian territory, three U.S. defense officials told Fox News on Monday.

Officials say a P-8 Poseidon with a crew of nine and an EP-3 Eries with about two dozen crew members were flying a reconnaissance mission in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, 13 miles off the coast of Iran. Per international maritime law, Iran's territorial waters extend 12 miles into the sea, and at one point, the Iranian military warned the planes that if they didn't change course, they were at risk of being shot down. One official told Fox News the aircraft ignored the warning, remaining in international airspace but near Iranian territory, because "we wanted to test the Iranian reaction. It's one thing to tell someone to get off your lawn, but we weren't on their lawn. Anytime you threaten to shoot someone down, it's not considered professional." Intelligence reports show there were no Iranian missile launchers in the area during the confrontation.

In August, there were at least five incidents between U.S. Navy ships and Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf, with one concluding with a U.S. Navy coastal patrol craft firing three warning shots after an Iranian boat ignored its radio calls to change course.

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