The incident involving the USS Boxer risks further escalating an already precarious situation in the Gulf.
OFFICIALS IN IRAN ON Friday refuted assertions from the Trump administration and the Pentagon that American forces shot down a drone in the Persian Gulf as it approached a U.S. warship.
“All drones belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, including the one mentioned by the U.S. president, have returned to their bases safe and sound after carrying out their scheduled surveillance and control operations,” Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, said Friday. He described Trump’s claims as “delusional and groundless.”
Trump, in remarks at the White House on Thursday, released few details about the incident, saying only that a drone approached the USS Boxer as it completed a planned transit of the Strait of Hormuz. A Pentagon spokesman later said the drone appeared threatening in its approach to the ship and that the Boxer responded in self-defense.
Multiple news outlets reported the Boxer was armed with equipment that would be able to disable an enemy drone without necessarily shooting it down.
Iran on Friday claimed it had video footage proving that the U.S. did not shoot down an Iranian drone. In a tweet, Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi suggested the U.S. may have shot down its own drone.
Thursday’s encounter prompted renewed fears of a potential escalation between Iran and the U.S., which continues to fortify its military presence in the region.
The concerns come amid reports that traditional allies have become reluctant to support the U.S. efforts to beef up security in the Persian Gulf, fearing the Trump administration may put them onto a path to war with Iran.
“The Americans want to create an ‘alliance of the willing’ who confront future attacks,” a Western diplomat told Reuters. “Nobody wants to be on that confrontation course and part of a U.S. push against Iran.”
Iran shot down a sophisticated U.S. surveillance drone last month that it says was operating in its airspace, a claim the Pentagon denies. The Defense Department had prepared a retaliatory strike before Trump called it off, saying later he didn’t believe a potential Iranian death toll was commensurate with losing an unmanned drone.