Iran’s Revolutionary Guards shot down a US drone on intruding the national airspace. The drone entered the Iranian airspace near Kouhmobarak district in the southern Hormozgan province. The Strait of Hormuz is considered to be one of the prime routes for the shipping industry. The incident took place in the evening today when the drone was allegedly gathering intelligence information from Iranian region, including the southern port of Chahbahar close to the outskirt with Pakistan.
US officials confirmed the loss of their asset and added in their statement that it was an RQ-4A Global Hawk High-Altitude, Long, Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS), which was shot down by Khordad-3 medium-range air defense missile (a truck-based missile system with a target range up to 30km)
On the matter, head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami commented that “The only way for our enemies to be safe is to respect our sovereignty, national security, and the national interests of the great Iranian nation,”. He added, “We do not have any intention for war with any country, but we are fully ready for war,”
On the other hand, the US claimed that the drone was in international airspace and the attack was unprovoked.
President Trump stated on the matter that, “Iran made a very big mistake”. In addition to the heat, Trump had already decided to increase the number of troops in the Middle East by 1000, as a reactive measure against the increasing hostility from Iran.
The incident adds on to the unfavorable conditions between the two countries. Earlier this week, US authorities also blamed Iran for the oil tanker attack in the Gulf of Oman. However, Iran denied the allegations and referred them as “ridiculous” and “dangerous”. The events are raising feelings of dread that an error or further ascent in pressures could push the US and Iran into an open clash.