Iran Rejects Trump’s Claim, Says None of Its Drones Were Downed

Iran Deputy FM asks if US ship shot down their own drone

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied President Trump’s claim earlier on Thursday that the USS Boxer shot down an Iranian drone over the Strait of Hormuz. They say none of their drones were actually shot down.

Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed Iran had not lost any drones in the Strait “or anywhere else.” He added that he was “worried that USS Boxer had shot down their own UAS by mistake.”

A top Iranian general also confirmed that they didn’t lose any drones, saying all Iranian drones returned safely to their bases. He suggested that the claimed shoot-down was intended to raise insecurity in the Persian Gulf.

This likely leaves open the question of what really happened. Trump offered no proof of the drone being destroyed, claiming it was immediately, totally destroyed. Iranian news agencies say that drones have images of the USS Boxer that would expose the claim as untrue, but it’s not clear what those would be.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.