Iran deputy FM says U.S. might have shot down its own drone
Iran’s deputy foreign minister is “worried” the United States might have shot down its own drone by mistake over the Arabian Gulf on July 18, as he insisted Iran has not lost any of its own drones.
Abbas Araghchi (Araqchi) tweeted on July 19 that "We have not lost any drone in the Strait of Hormuz nor anywhere else. I am worried that USS Boxer has shot down their own UAS [Unmanned Aerial System] by mistake!"
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a day earlier that it had brought down an Iranian drone flying too close to its warship and took defensive action. The Pentagon clarified that it had used a jamming system to “destroy” the flying object instead of using conventional weapons such as anti-aircraft guns or missiles.
There have not been any other official reactions from Iran to the U.S. statements about the Iranian drone.
Iran has been boasting for years that it is capable of using drones to fly over U.S. naval vessels and has even published videos saying they were filmed by drones flying over U.S. ships.
Last month Iran also shot down a U.S. surveillance drone in the same area, but president Trump decided not to retaliate at the time.