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U.S. warship destroys Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz
Tehran earlier announced its forces have seized a foreign tanker
A U.S. warship on Thursday destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it threatened the ship, U.S. President Donald Trump said. The encounter marked a new escalation of tensions between the countries less than one month after Iran downed an American drone and Trump came close to retaliating with a military strike.
In remarks at the White House, Trump blamed Iran for a "provocative and hostile" action and said the U.S. responded in self-defence.
He said the navy's USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, took defensive action after the Iranian aircraft closed to within 1,000 yards of the ship and ignored multiple calls to stand down.
"The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, facilities and interests and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran's attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce," Trump said.
- Trump accuses Iran of secret nuclear enrichment, threatens to increase sanctions
- Iran breaches key uranium enrichment limit in nuclear deal, UN watchdog confirms
The Pentagon said the encounter happened at 10 a.m. local time Thursday in international waters while the Boxer was heading to the Persian Gulf.
"A fixed-wing unmanned aerial system [UAS] approached Boxer and closed within a threatening range," chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a written statement. "The ship took defensive action against the UAS to ensure the safety of the ship and its crew."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran has no information about losing a drone.
Foreign tanker seized
Earlier on Thursday Iran said its Revolutionary Guard seized a foreign oil tanker and its crew of 12 for smuggling fuel out of the country, and hours later released video showing the vessel to be a United Arab Emirates-based ship that had vanished in Iranian waters over the weekend.
The announcement solved one mystery — the fate of the missing ship — but raised a host of other questions and heightened worries about the free flow of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical petroleum shipping routes. One-fifth of global crude exports passes through the strait.
The incident happened with tensions running high between Iran and the United States over Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Iranian state television did not at first identify the seized vessel but said it was intercepted on Sunday and was involved in smuggling some one million litres of Iranian fuel. Iran did not identify the nationalities of the crew.
Crude prices, which had been falling since last week, ticked higher almost immediately after the announcement.
Iran said the tanker was seized south of its Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Neighbouring Qeshm Island has a Revolutionary Guard base.
*more of the story at the link
U.S. warship destroys Iranian drone in Strait of Hormuz
Tehran earlier announced its forces have seized a foreign tanker
A U.S. warship on Thursday destroyed an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz after it threatened the ship, U.S. President Donald Trump said. The encounter marked a new escalation of tensions between the countries less than one month after Iran downed an American drone and Trump came close to retaliating with a military strike.
In remarks at the White House, Trump blamed Iran for a "provocative and hostile" action and said the U.S. responded in self-defence.
He said the navy's USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, took defensive action after the Iranian aircraft closed to within 1,000 yards of the ship and ignored multiple calls to stand down.
"The United States reserves the right to defend our personnel, facilities and interests and calls upon all nations to condemn Iran's attempts to disrupt freedom of navigation and global commerce," Trump said.
- Trump accuses Iran of secret nuclear enrichment, threatens to increase sanctions
- Iran breaches key uranium enrichment limit in nuclear deal, UN watchdog confirms
The Pentagon said the encounter happened at 10 a.m. local time Thursday in international waters while the Boxer was heading to the Persian Gulf.
"A fixed-wing unmanned aerial system [UAS] approached Boxer and closed within a threatening range," chief Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a written statement. "The ship took defensive action against the UAS to ensure the safety of the ship and its crew."
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran has no information about losing a drone.
Foreign tanker seized
Earlier on Thursday Iran said its Revolutionary Guard seized a foreign oil tanker and its crew of 12 for smuggling fuel out of the country, and hours later released video showing the vessel to be a United Arab Emirates-based ship that had vanished in Iranian waters over the weekend.
The announcement solved one mystery — the fate of the missing ship — but raised a host of other questions and heightened worries about the free flow of traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical petroleum shipping routes. One-fifth of global crude exports passes through the strait.
The incident happened with tensions running high between Iran and the United States over Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Iranian state television did not at first identify the seized vessel but said it was intercepted on Sunday and was involved in smuggling some one million litres of Iranian fuel. Iran did not identify the nationalities of the crew.
Crude prices, which had been falling since last week, ticked higher almost immediately after the announcement.
Iran said the tanker was seized south of its Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Neighbouring Qeshm Island has a Revolutionary Guard base.
*more of the story at the link
