As reported in several Iranian media outlets, Iran's Revolutionary Guard has shot down a US drone. US officials initially claimed that it was an MQ-4C Triton that was brought down by a surface-to-air missile. However, according to a CENTCOM , the drone that was shot down was an RQ-4A Global Hawk, while there are significant differences in the two countries' versions of the incident.
The US said drone was flying legally through international airspace. For its part, Iranian state media, which was the first to report the incident, said the aircraft was shot down only after it violated Iranian airspace, near the village of Kuhmobarak in Hormozgan province.
US Navy Commander Bill Urban, a spokesman for US Central Command, said no US aircraft were operating in Iranian airspace that day.
Iranian news agencies such as Sepah initially reported that the drone was an RQ-4 Global Hawk model, while others said it could have been an MQ-4C, one of the newest drones in the US fleet. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) published a photo purportedly showing the US drone engulfed in flames.
“The downing of the American drone sent a clear, decisive and unequivocal message that the defenders of the borders of Islamic Iran will act decisively against any attack on this territory by any foreigner,” the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, told the Iranian Tasnim news agency. The drone was later identified as an RQ-4A.
The US said last week that Iran tried to shoot down another American drone while the US was investigating an attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, but the details surrounding that incident are also disputed.
The secretary of Iran's Supreme Security Council told IRNA on Wednesday that Iran does not want war, but that it will protect its airspace.
A disturbing new report published last night by the New York Times shows that the Trump regime is lobbying Congress for its desire to attack Iran. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo even claims that there are close ties between al-Qaeda and Iran, which defies logic. Al-Qaeda is a militant Sunni group, while Iran is 90% Shiite.
Pompeo appeared on CBS's Face the Nation last Sunday and declined to say whether the Trump regime has the legal authority to attack Iran without congressional approval.
Fortunately, Congress seems to be skeptical about the allegations that Iran and al-Qaeda are collaborating. However, it seems that neither side has the best intentions.
