Iran is now denying that one of its drones was destroyed by the United States after President Trump announced on Thursday that the U.S. Navy had done so.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday tweeted that "we have not lost any drone" after Trump said that the U.S.S. Boxer destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz that came within 1,000 yards and would not stand down. "I am worried that USS Boxer has shot down their own UAS by mistake!" Araghchi also wrote.
"This is the latest of many provocative and hostile actions by Iran against vessels operating in international waters," Trump said upon announcing that the Iranian drone had been destroyed, CNN reports. His announcement came amid escalating tensions with Iran and a month after Iran shot down a U.S. drone in the Strait of Hormuz, nearly prompting Trump to launch a retaliatory strike that he says he called off with 10 minutes to spare.
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A spokesperson for the Pentagon also said on Thursday that the Iranian drone was destroyed by the U.S. after coming "within a threatening range," The New York Times reports.
Iran's military spokesman denied Trump's claim as well, The Washington Post reports, saying that "all Iranian drones" in the Strait of Hormuz "including the one which the U.S. mentioned ... have returned to their bases.
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