Iran calls military drone message 'Message To America', answers us

The commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, major General Hossein Salami, called the drone's destruction "a clear message to America."

Dubai:

Iran has shot down an American naval surveillance drone near the Strait of Hormuz, announced on Thursday Iranian and American officials, adding to weeks of tensions in the Persian Gulf region in the face of growing concerns over a broader military confrontation.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard corps reported in a statement that they had targeted the drone - which it had identified as a Global Hawk RQ-4 - in Iranian airspace over the southern province of Hormozgan, near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The US central Command confirmed the incident on Thursday, but denied that the aircraft was in Iranian airspace.

"The U.S. central command can confirm that a U.S. Navy aircraft ... was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile system while operating in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz," said Centcom spokesman Captain Bill Urban, a statement.

He added that the drone, a Global Hawk RQ-4A, was shot down Wednesday morning in the early hours of the morning.

"Iranian reports that the plane is flying over Iran are false," he said. "It was an unprovoked attack on an American surveillance asset in international airspace."

The commander-in-chief of the Revolutionary Guards, major General Hossein Salami, called the drone's destruction "a clear message to America."

An American official confirmed the episode to The Associated Press and stated that the drone had been targeted by an Iranian surface-to-air missile in international airspace over the Strait of Hormuz. Nearly a quarter of the world's oil passes through the waterway, which connects the Middle East's energy producers with markets around the world.

"Our borders are Iran's red line, and we will react strongly against any aggression," said Salami Thursday in a statement relayed by Iranian television.

"Iran is not seeking war with any country, but we are fully prepared to defend Iran," he said.

Iranian news agency Mashregh, close to the Revolutionary Guards, announced that the drone had been shot down by the guards ' anti-missile defense system Sevom Khordad.

The Guard reported in an updated statement that the American drone had " left a base in the southern Persian Gulf "and was heading towards the Iranian port of Chabahar"in the utmost secrecy, in violation of the rules of international aviation".

"We warn against the consequences of such illegal and provocative measures," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi, reported state television.

The attacks are taking place in a silent stalemate between the United States and Iran in the Persian Gulf region following attacks against Japanese and Norwegian oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz. The Trump administration blamed Iran for these attacks, at least one of which was carried out using a mine with legs similar to those previously exposed during Iranian military parades.

Iran denied any involvement and called the accusation" unfair "and" a lie ".

The US central Command announced that a modified Iranian SA-7 surface-to-air missile was fired at an MQ-9 drone in the Gulf of Oman while it monitored the attack on the Japanese tanker Kokuka Courageous on 13 June.

Earlier this month, Houthi rebels shot down an MQ-9 over Yemen with an SA-6 surface-to-air missile, said Centcom, which was "made possible by Iranian aid".

Saudi Arabia announced on Thursday that the houthis rebels in Yemen had fired a rocket at a desalination plant in the kingdom overnight. The rocket did not cause any damage, the Saudi news agency reported, citing the army spokesman, colonel Turki al-Maliki.

In December 2011, Iran captured an American stealth drone operated from a base in Afghanistan, allegedly after an Iranian cyber warfare unit requisitioned and landed it near the city of Kashmar, in northeastern Iran. Tehran has said that the surveillance drone Lockheed Martin RQ-170 Sentinel, had been detected in iranian airspace at approximately 140 miles from the afghan border. US officials said the operators had lost control of the drone while it was flying on the afghan side of the Iranian border.