Iran's foreign minister is using a hand-drawn map to explain why America's drone was shot down

A map of Iran.
(Image credit: Javad Zarif/Twitter)

Iran's foreign minister has cobbled together an interesting explanation of Thursday's drone hit.

Iran's paramilitary Islamic Republican Guard Corps shot down a U.S. drone on Thursday morning, but the two countries have since argued over the type of drone and where it was flying. So in an attempt to explain Iran's side of the story, its Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has appeared to draw out — or at least hand label — a map of the area and tweet it out.

By America's account, Iran shot down the drone in international airspace, CNN reports. But according to Zarif's map and the accompanying screenshot from Google, the U.S. drone was in "stealth mode and violated Iranian airspace."

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President Trump originally responded to the strike with a Thursday tweet saying "Iran made a very big mistake," and clarified by telling reporters that he finds it "hard to believe [the strike] was intentional." Zarif's explanation, on the other hand, suggests the move was purposeful. Regardless, the move has further inflamed tensions between Iran and the U.S. amid a streak of attacks on oil tankers around the Strait of Hormuz.

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Kathryn Krawczyk

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.